


A Bit of Hope

by LeiaHope



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-06-15 16:09:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15416646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeiaHope/pseuds/LeiaHope
Summary: When young Hope’s father is in danger, she uses her magic to save his life, unwittingly  unleashing the wrath of a powerful  sorceress who swears revenge on the little girl and her family. Can the magic of true love save Hope, Emma and Killian?(I included this in the notes but also wanted to include it in the summary: Wish Hook/Rogers and Alice/Tilly are villains in this story.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place sometime after the series finale of Once Upon a Time. This is simply a fan work written for fun. I have no association with the show.
> 
> A cautionary note: Wish Hook/Rogers and Alice/Tilly are villains in this story. I know fans are somewhat divided on those characters, so I wanted to state that up front. Also, I did not tag the Alice/Robin relationship because it is not going to last in my story, and Robin will find a new lady to love.

The little family walked down the shore, toes dipping in the waves. The little girl’s blonde curls caught the late afternoon sunlight, making her look even more angelic than usual. She was the image of her mother, except for her eyes, which, like her father’s, reflected the blue of the sea. She held both her parents’ hands, and every once in a while she giggled as they lifted her gently and swung her lightly in the air.

Soon they reached the docks. The Jolly Roger stood proudly on the waves, its white sails bright in the Storybrooke sunshine. “Daddy!” cried Hope. “It’s my ship!” 

“Your ship?” asked Emma skeptically, grinning at the little girl as she began tugging on her parents’ hands, urging them to move faster. 

Killian winked at Emma. “Aye,” he said. “Our little Hope may be a princess but one day she’s also going to be captain of the grandest ship in all the realms.”

“Yes!” clapped Hope excitedly. “Can I drive my ship now, Daddy? Please?”

“Drive? Drive is what we do in Mommy’s yellow vessel, little cygnet. On the Jolly Roger, we sail,” he explained. “Come on, let’s show Mommy what you’ve learned!” Killian lifted his daughter up into his arms, tossing her in the air and making her giggle with joy. Emma followed them up the gangplank, smiling happily at the pair. They were the picture of a fairytale realized, of true love and happy beginnings.

The little family didn’t know they were being watched. Hidden along the shoreline, behind a grove of trees, she watched them. She had enchanted a spyglass so she could see and hear everything with perfect clarity. She gripped it tighter and felt the anger rise.

The perfect family. The doting father. The loving mother. Princess of Misthaven and future Captain of the Jolly Roger. Yes, the father may just have been teasing the little girl, but the ship was likely to be hers someday. And there she was, smiling, happy, free to run through the surf and sail the ship into the evening sun with her father.

The woman’s eyes darkened. Hatred burned inside her. It was her fault. It was her fault Papa was dead. Oh, Robin would say, “It’s not really her fault. She’s just a little girl. She didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

But she had. Papa was gone because of Hope. He was dead. And there was Hope with everything Alice never had. A mother who loved her. A father who was alive and who had always wanted her, who never looked at her with resentment behind his eyes because he was deceived into becoming a father against his will.

Alice could feel magic sparking inside her as she felt her rage deepen. Not just any magic. Dark magic. Her mother’s magic. Not the magic of a savior like Emma but the magic of a witch who would leave an infant to die. When she was younger, Alice had rejected her mother completely but she had begun to recognize the power that dark magic could give her—the power to one day exact revenge on the person who had killed her father and who had everything that should have been hers.

********

That night, Emma quietly crept down the hall of the beautiful home her husband and son had chosen years ago. She could hear Killian murmuring softly from Hope’s bedroom. Pausing in the doorway, she saw Killian reading from Henry’s storybook. 

“And then the handsome pirate took the beautiful princess Emma in his arms and began to waltz her around the dance floor, her red dress swirling around her as he lost himself in her lovely green eyes.” Killian’s voice was soft and quiet. Hope was cuddled into his side, eyes half closed. Emma felt warmth bloom in her chest as she listened to her husband read the story to their daughter. Her heart still skipped a beat just thinking of that night in Midas’ castle. It was then she had started to realize she was falling in love.

Killian finished the page and looked down at his exhausted daughter. “We’ll read more tomorrow, little love,” he whispered softly, kissing her forehead. “I love you.” “I love you, too, Daddy,” she said sweetly and threw her arms around him in a warm hug. As she did, the lights in the room began to gleam brighter, shining like the sun at midday. It was Hope’s magic.

“Sorry,” said Hope, looking down. “Mommy, I forgot to control.”

“Don’t ever apologize for being you, duckling,” said Emma kindly. She sat down on the bed on the other side of Hope, putting her arms around her. “Your magic is part of you, and it’s beautiful.”

“Aye, Hope,” said Killian, tousling her blond curls fondly. “Just like your Mommy, you are a special, amazing little lass.” 

Hope smiled briefly, but then her face clouded. “I know, but if I don’t control I could hurt someone,” her little lip quivered. “Again,” she whispered softly. 

Emma looked at Killian with concern. They both wrapped Hope in their arms. “Hope, my little love, we know you would never hurt anyone on purpose. Your magic was trying to protect you and us.” Killian reassured her.

“You did nothing wrong, duckling,” Emma said firmly. “Your magic is light magic, born from true love. It’s the most powerful light magic in the world. That kind of magic will help you protect people you love from darkness.”

Hope looked into her mother’s eyes, and Emma could see her little girl was troubled. It broke her heart that Hope was afraid of her magic. Emma knew what that felt like. She also knew that Hope would never wish harm on anyone. What had happened was simply caused by Hope’s magic protecting them. 

Hope took a deep breath. “O.k., Mommy,” she said. “Are we going to have another magic lesson tomorrow?” she asked hopefully. 

“You got it, kid,” Emma promised. “Tomorrow afternoon, you and me. We’ll practice in the park. Sound good?”

“Yay!” Hope replied happily. Her smile quickly morphed into a yawn. “Time for bed, little love,” Killian said. “Do you have Pinky?” 

“Yes, Daddy!” said Hope, holding up the well-loved pink plush swan her godmother Elsa had given her the day she was born. Killian smiled and hugged his daughter again, then stood up. “Sweet dreams, duckling,” said Emma. She kissed Hope’s cheek and followed Killian out of the room.

**********

(Six months earlier)

She was beautiful. Brave, strong, vibrant, kind and beautiful. Her smile lit up her face. Every time he saw her, he wanted her. He still remembered her touch, how gently she’d caressed his face when she’d healed him. He’d never forget it. He knew. It was true love. It had to be.

But then HE was there. Carrying drinks that he set down in front of her, tossing his arm across her shoulders as she leaned into him, smiling her radiant smile up at him—the smile that should be his. Hook kissed her, his lips lingering against hers. 

Rogers turned away from the scene. He couldn’t stand it. He thought he’d forgotten about her, but after he’d seen her at Regina’s coronation, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He wanted her. Needed her.

He had researched the Wish Realm, hoping desperately to find another Emma. Everyone else in Storybrooke had a counterpart in the Wish Realm, so she should, too, he reasoned. But in the end, every search came to nothing. And Regina had explained that because the Wish Realm was based on the real Emma’s wish, the wish had drawn the real Emma there rather than creating a Wish Emma. So there was only one Emma Swan.

But there were two Hooks. And the other one had her. The other Hook held her hand and kissed her and went home with her every night to share her bed. While he went home alone. 

Rogers tossed back his rum, downing the rest of the glass. “How many is that now?” he heard Granny ask shortly. She was glaring down at him. “Oh, I haven’t had very many” he smirked. “Just enough.”

“Enough is right. You’re cut off, Rogers.” He scowled as Granny turned to assist other customers.

He’d had enough. Enough of this stupid town and watching the other Hook with Emma when she should be his. He stood up and stumbled out the back door. As he reached the alley, he heard a commotion out front. Two of the dwarfs had imbibed about as much as he had, and they were fighting. One of them (Grumpy? He could never keep track) got in a good shove and knocked the other right through Granny’s window. Emma came striding out, with the other Hook and Granny at her heels. 

“Alright, you two, you’re coming down to the station to sleep it off.” With a flick of her wrist, handcuffs appeared, and they were soon cuffed and muttering apologies to Emma and Granny.

Emma turned to the other Hook. “I think I can handle these two. Why don’t you pick up Hope at Mom and Dad’s and take her home? You can start getting her ready for bed while I show these guys to their cells.”

“Are you sure you don’t need any help, love?” he asked.

“Nah,” she said, smiling. “I’ve been renting cells to drunk dwarfs for years.” She put her hands on his chest and kissed him, softly at first, but then more heatedly as his hands found her hips. “Mmm,” he murmured. “I’ll be waiting up for you, sheriff.” “You’d better, Captain,” she grinned, kissing him again, then turned to march the dwarfs down the street to the station.

Rogers’ eyes narrowed. He watched the other Hook climb into the yellow bug and drive away. At least he was separated from Emma for a little while.

Separated from Emma... Rogers realized through his drunken haze that meant the other Hook would be at the house alone, without his precious savior to protect him. Rogers smirked and began walking quietly down the street in the direction of the Swan-Jones house.

*******

Killian carried Hope carefully up the stairs. When he had arrived at the Charmings’ farmhouse, she was already asleep. Snow told him she’d spent all evening playing in the huge yard with her uncle. Hope had especially loved petting the fluffy white sheep grazing near the barn. Now she was out like a light. Killian gently laid her down in her bed and carefully changed her into her pajamas. He covered her with a light sheet and made sure her little swan-shaped nightlight was turned on. He smiled down at his sleeping daughter in awe. Sometimes he couldn’t believe how blessed he was.

As Killian turned to walk out the door of Hope’s room, he heard a small creak in the hall. Quickly, he jumped back and then felt a fist graze his shoulder. It was dark, but with the light of Hope’s swan nightlight, he realized it was Rogers, the Wish Realm version of himself, and he was drunk. Killian quickly moved to make sure he was between Rogers and Hope’s bed. He started to open his mouth to ask Rogers what was going on, but Rogers flung himself at Killian again, tackling him to the ground and pinning him there.

“Rogers,” Killian tried again, “what the devil has gotten into you?”

“What’s gotten into me?” Rogers growled. His eyes were wild and he reeked of liquor. “What’s gotten into me is I’m tired of watching another man having what should me mine. It’s time I finished what I started years ago. By the time Emma returns, you’ll be dead and your body well hidden. And I’ll be here in your place. I’ll be her husband.”

“You’re drunk and you’re talking crazy, Rogers,” Killian tried to reason with him. “Let’s go downstairs and talk.”

“There will be no talking!” Rogers retorted angrily. He pulled out a knife. “Now, say goodbye—“

Without warning, there was a blinding burst of white light. Rogers was flung away from Killian, the knife bouncing harmlessly away. Stumbling backwards in a daze, Rogers went through the window, falling head first to the ground below. 

Killian jumped up and ran to the window. Rogers’ lifeless body was lying on the grass. He ran down the stairs two at a time and rushed out into the back yard. Rogers’ neck was twisted at a horrid angle. He had no pulse. He was dead.

Then Killian heard crying from above him. Hope! He rushed back upstairs to find Hope standing on her bed, tears streaming down her face. Her little arms were outstretched, still glowing from the magic pulsing through them.

“Daddy!” Hope sobbed, her voice shaking with fear. Killian ran across the room and gathered his daughter his arms, hugging her tightly as she trembled against him, sobbing her little heart out. 

Suddenly, there was a whoosh and a cloud of swirling white smoke appeared near the door to the room. It was Emma. “Killian! I felt something was wrong, that you were in danger.” She took in the scene and quickly rushed to Hope’s bedside. She knelt next to Killian and took Hope’s hand. “Is she ok?” Emma asked, her voice filled with concern.

“Aye,” Killian assured her. “She’s alright. Everything is going to be alright.” 

Together, Emma and Killian held Hope, patting her back and stroking her hair until her sobs gradually subsided and she drifted back to sleep. Quietly, they tiptoed out of the door and down the hall to their own room. Emma flicked on a lamp and the cheery room came into view, with its high vaulted ceiling, comfortable king bed with navy blue coverlet, and large picture window with a view of the sea. Emma turned to Killian, “What happened? Killian?”

Killian’s face was pale and worried. He ran his fingers through his dark hair and took a deep breath. “Swan, Rogers was here tonight.”

“Rogers?” Emma asked. “The other you from the Wish Realm?”

“Aye. Apparently, he decided to finish what he started all those years ago. He came here drunk off his arse and said he was going to kill me and take my place.”

“Well, where is he?” Emma asked.

“We fought,” Killian said. “He pulled a knife. And then...” His voice trailed off.

“Killian, you’re scaring me. What happened?”

“Rogers is dead.”

“You fought back and he died in the fight?” Emma asked, although something in his eyes told her that wasn’t what happened.

“No,” said Killian. “There was a bright light and Rogers was pulled off me. He flew across the room and stumbled out the window. He broke his neck in the fall.”

“Bright light,” Emma whispered, the truth hitting her in the gut. “It was Hope, wasn’t it?”

“She saved me, Emma. He was going to kill me, and she saved me with her magic.” Killian’s voice was awestruck but also laced with worry for their little girl. Emma’s eyes filled with tears. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter! I’m having fun writing this story. I hope you enjoy reading it.
> 
> I can’t promise every update will be this quick. I already had most of this chapter written when I posted the first one. But I’ll try to keep updates as regular as possible.

The days after Rogers died passed in a haze. Dr. Whale did an autopsy and confirmed Rogers died of a broken neck. They had to begin planning a funeral. And they had to tell Alice.

Emma had only seen Alice once, at Regina’s coronation. Henry had pointed her out, explaining she was dating Robin, Zelena’s daughter. Later, Robin had introduced her. Emma had felt extremely uncomfortable. There was a strange look in Alice’s eyes as she stared at Emma and Hope. There was something dark lurking in the woman’s gaze, and Emma had held her sleeping baby tighter to her chest. She had quickly made an excuse that she needed to find Killian and hurried away.

Since then, though, Emma had forgotten about Alice. Regina had put Robin on a peace keeping task force that traveled the realms to deal with pockets of violence. Not everyone in all the realms were pleased to be united under Regina’s rule. To be honest, Emma questioned whether Regina’s decision to unite the realms had been wise, but she was busy with her family and protecting Storybrooke. She left the other realms to Regina and Robin. 

According to Zelena, Alice had accompanied Robin in her travels throughout the realms. Now someone had to get word to her that her father was dead. Although Emma didn’t really view Rogers as Alice’s father, given that the wish had created them both, she knew from experience that the wish could give a person memories of things that hadn’t really happened. So Alice believed Rogers was her father, even if he really wasn’t, and Emma was sure she would be devastated to learn he had died.

Emma hadn’t even realized Rogers was in Storybrooke. She thought he still lived in Hyperion Heights, the neighborhood in Seattle where Henry, Cinderella and Lucy had been cursed. Zelena told Emma that Rogers had shown up in Storybrooke a few weeks earlier. He had been fired from his job on the Seattle police force. Apparently, he was a bit dense and not a very good cop (the guy had believed Gothel was innocent, after all). Rumple had hired him so he could keep an eye on him, but now that Rumple was dead and Rogers had a new boss, it quickly became obvious he was not cut out for police work.

Rogers had started drinking again after he was fired. Zelena took pity on him for Robin’s sake and “rented” him a room in her basement. He’d been living there a few weeks and, according to Zelena, “Nook,” as she called him, had been getting on her last nerve, coming home drunk and making lewd passes at her. She’d been on the verge of kicking him out when he’d attacked Killian and gotten himself killed.

Zelena offered to send word to Robin and Alice about what had happened. Emma was relieved. She was worried about Hope and wanted to keep her focus on her daughter.

*****  
“Can you try to eat something for us, little love?” Killian asked Hope. They were having lunch in their bright, cheery kitchen, the sun streaming through the windows, but Hope seemed tired and lethargic. She pushed the macaroni around on her plate, barely looking at them. Emma met her husband’s worried gaze. 

“Hope, is there something you need to talk to Mommy and Daddy about, sweetie?” Emma asked.

“No,” said Hope in a small voice.

“Hope, love, I know what happened last night was scary,” Killian said gently, “But it’s o.k. now. We’re all safe.”

Hope was quiet for a long time. Finally, she said softly, as if she was afraid of the words, “Am I a bad guy now?” And then she burst into tears. 

“Hope, no!” said Emma firmly, jumping out of her chair. Killian was already at Hope’s side, kneeling beside her, his hand on her shoulder. “Why would you think you’re a bad guy?”

“I—I killed that man,” Hope choked through her sobs. “I used my magic on him and he died.” Hope sounded so lost that Killian’s heart almost broke in two. “Hope, love,” he said. “Your magic didn’t kill him. You just pulled him off me so he couldn’t hurt me. He died because he was drunk and stumbled out the window.”

Hope looked uncertain. “Really?” she asked. “Really,” said Emma. “You’re not a bad guy. You’re a hero. You saved Daddy.”

“Aye,” said Killian seriously, looking into his daughter’s blue eyes that mirrored his own. “Hope, you were my savior last night. Just like Mommy.” Hope brightened a bit at that. “I will always save you, Daddy,” she said solemnly. Killian hugged her tight. “And I will always protect you, too, my little love.”

Emma looked down at Killian and Hope and thought for the thousandth time that she was the luckiest woman in the world. No matter what happened, they would get through it together as a family.

********  
(Present day)

Robin was worried. She paced the living room of Zelena’s farmhouse. As she often did lately, Robin was worried about Alice.

It had been six months since Robin’s world had been turned upside down. Before that, she had been happily traveling the realms with the woman she thought was the love of her life. Robin had never been in love before, and she’d fallen hard. And it had been good, really good. They’d seemed like a perfect match. But now...

Now it was different. Alice was different. It wasn’t just losing Rogers. There was an anger in her now. And it scared Robin because she could feel where that anger was directed.

Robin knew the Wish Realm wasn’t real. But Alice believed she’d been raised by Rogers and that Gothel was her mother and had left her to die. Alice had a lot of resentment towards Gothel and towards Rogers, too, particularly because Rogers had left her alone in the tower after Gothel’s curse that prevented them from touching. Robin was a bit fuzzy on the details, but whatever memories the wish had given Alice about her childhood, there was a lot of unhappiness there.

Still, Rogers had been the only “wish” family Alice had left after she killed Gothel. At the funeral, she’d broken down. And then, to Robin’s horror and the horror of everyone else, she’d turned her anger on Emma and Killian, who had come to pay their respects. “Why are you here?” Alice had screamed at them. “Your little brat murdered my father!” Emma looked like someone had punched her in the gut. Killian bowed his head. “Alice!” Robin had cried. “You know that’s not true! She’s only a child, and she was just trying to protect her father.” But Alice wouldn’t listen to reason. She’d tossed a fireball towards Killian, which Emma had deftly turned into a harmless balloon. Then she’d disappeared in a puff of dark smoke.

Since then, Alice had pulled farther and farther away from Robin. She spent a great deal of time alone in the woods. She claimed it reminded her of Wonderland and helped her feel better. But Robin knew there was more. She knew Alice was practicing dark magic in the woods. She’d caught her several times. Alice laughed it off as a bit of fun, but her skills were getting stronger and darker. And Robin was afraid where it would lead.

*********  
Hope stood near the lake in the park. The water sparkled as the sun danced across the waves. Her hair was in pigtails, and she wore a blue jean skirt, white shirt, and, a tiny red leather jacket that Snow had custom made to match her mother’s signature garment. Although it was summer, there was enough breeze so that she wasn’t unbearably warm in the jacket. Hope insisted on wearing it whenever she practiced magic, calling it her “mommy jacket.”

Emma had started teaching Hope magic when she was about two years old. Before that, Hope’s magic had only manifested in soft, harmless light that occasionally radiated from her hands when she was especially happy or sad or scared. Then one day not long after her second birthday, Hope was riding her tricycle when it tipped over sideways, and she skinned her knee. She cried so hard, a spark of magic shot from her fingertips and broke one of the branches on a tree above her. The heavy branch had fallen and almost landed on Hope. Since then, Emma had been working with Hope to teach her how to harness and control her magic.

Standing on the soft green grass near the lake, Hope’s eyes were closed in concentration. “Focus on what you want your magic to do,” Emma said. “Make a picture of it in your head, like when you play pretend.” Hope did as her mother instructed. Then she gently waved her hand across the water. As her hand moved, small pieces of bread appeared out of thin air and fell gently to the lake. Hungry ducklings swam eagerly towards the feast. Hope opened her eyes and squealed with delight. “I did it, Mommy! I did it!” she cried.

“You sure did, baby! That was wonderful!” Wearing her own red jacket, Emma hugged her daughter from behind. Emma loved their magic lessons. She had never imagined herself as a teacher, but passing her knowledge on to Hope was one of the most rewarding things she had ever done. Now she understood a bit why her mother had chosen to remain a teacher rather than trying to return to the Enchanted Forest to rule over her grandfather’s kingdom.

“Remember, Hope, magic comes from emotion. You felt like the ducklings might be hungry, and you felt in your heart that you wanted to feed them. That’s how you made the bread appear.”

“Does magic come from other emotions, Mommy?” Hope asked thoughtfully. 

“Absolutely! Like this morning, you couldn’t find Pinky and you were sad. I love you and felt in my heart that I was sad because you were sad. That’s how I used my magic to make Pinky appear,” Emma explained.

“Because true love is magic, right Mommy? That’s what Grandma always says.”

“That’s right, duckling.”

Hope smiled happily and suddenly she disappeared in a puff of white smoke and reappeared in Emma’s arms, hugging her and beaming. “I love you, Mommy!” Emma smiled. “I love you, too, baby.”

*********

Hidden with a concealment spell in the trees near the lake, she watched the little girl and her mother. She thought about the pieces she needed to enact her revenge while she focused her spyglass on Emma. The savior. She would have to take Emma out of commission. As long as Emma was around, she would protect the little girl.

The savior would also protect HIM. Sometimes she didn’t know who she hated more, him or the child. Papa had told her he loved her, but it had never quite reached his eyes. He also left when things got tough, blaming it on Gothel’s curse and depression. If Papa had what the other Hook had, if he’d had Emma’s love, maybe he would’ve been able to love Alice more fully. Maybe she would’ve seen him look at her the way the other Hook looked at his child. But no. The other Hook had everything and Papa had nothing. That’s why he was never able to truly love her. That’s why he couldn’t break the curse Gothel had put on them.

The other Hook would pay, just like Hope. She’d make certain of that. And she was about to take her first step towards putting her plan into action.

********

Robin knocked hesitantly on the door of the beautiful blue-gray house with the white picket fence. It was such a warm, welcoming place. She’d visited a few times when she was a little girl, and she always remembered it as a house full of love.

It had taken her a lot of thought before coming here. She still wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing. But her gut told her she had to warn them. Alice was disappearing for longer periods of time. She was distant and withdrawn. And then there was the squirrel.

A week ago, Robin had decided to find Alice, to try to talk to her. She was hoping to convince her to resume their old life traveling the realms as part of Regina’s peace-keeping task force. But she hadn’t seen Alice in several days. So Robin had used a locator potion to track Alice using one of her scarves. She’d followed the scarf deep into the woods. And then she saw it.

Alice was focusing all her magic on a tiny brown squirrel. It was squealing and writhing in pain. But Alice didn’t break her concentration. She didn’t let up. Suddenly, the squirrel burst into flames. And then it was gone.

Robin had stood frozen to the spot for a long time. She couldn’t speak. She stayed hidden behind the trees until Alice left in the other direction. It was only then that she realized she was trembling with fear. 

Since that day, Robin had been haunted by the squirrel. And now she was at Emma and Killian’s door. Because she was afraid. Because she was afraid the squirrel was meant to be Hope.

After Robin knocked, she began to have second thoughts. She started to turn and walk down the stairs when the door opened. It was Captain Jones. He smiled kindly at her. “Why hello Little Robin! So nice to see you.” Robin smiled in spite of the seriousness of her visit. Captain Jones had known her father, and he often called her “Little Robin” because of it.

Robin played nervously with the zipper on the edge of her jacket. “Captain Jones,” she began. “May I come in?”

“Of course, Robin,” he said, matching her serious tone. He led her to the living room, and she sat down on the edge of the comfy leather sofa. She gazed around the room. The walls were a warm cream color, and they were filled with pictures of family—Emma and Killian at their wedding, Henry holding Hope when she was a baby, Snow and Charming smiling and waving outside their farm. She even recognized her younger self in one of the photos, playing with a teenage Henry in the backyard.

“Robin, I sense this isn’t just a social visit,” Killian broke the silence. Robin sighed, “No, sir, it isn’t. Captain Jones, I’m worried about Alice.”

Killian leaned back in his chair and observed Robin with concern. “Has something happened to her?”

Robin fidgeted with her jacket. “No, it’s more like what she’s doing to herself.” And suddenly it all came out in a rush. She told Killian how Alice had changed, how she was angry and hostile and increasingly withdrawn. She told him that Alice’s anger seemed directed at Hope, and Killian remembered the outburst at the funeral. Then Robin told him about the squirrel. She felt a bit guilty, like she was betraying Alice’s privacy, but at the same time she felt like a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders.

Killian frowned as he took in everything Robin had told him. As he was about to speak, the door opened and Emma and Hope walked in. Robin and Killian immediately stood to greet them.

“Robin!” Emma said. “What a nice surprise!” She hugged the younger woman and smiled. “It’s so nice to see you.” 

“Hello, sheriff,” Robin said warmly. “Hello Hope,” she added, smiling down at the little girl with the blonde curls.

“I’ve been practicing magic!” Hope announced proudly. “I used it to feed the ducks!” 

“You did?” Killian picked Hope up and swung her around, eliciting a squeal of delight from his daughter. “My little savior in training.” 

Robin smiled. “I remember my mom teaching me that trick when I was a little girl.”

“Henry told us you gave up your magic so your mother could get hers back. That was an extremely selfless thing you did, Robin,” Emma said warmly. 

“Uh-oh, Pinky has a boo-boo,” Hope called from across the room. Emma and Robin walked over to examine the stuffed swan. One of the black beads that served as eyes was missing. “Can we fix him?” asked Hope, a slight tremble in her voice.

Emma gently took the beloved swan from Hope and examined it. She could fix the eye easily herself, but she saw another chance for her daughter to practice her talents. “Hmm...let’s see. How does Pinky’s missing eye make you feel, Hope.”

“Sad,” said Hope. “Because now Pinky can’t see.”

“Hold onto that feeling. Put your hand over Pinky. Picture in your mind a new eye for him.”

Hope put her hand on the toy and concentrated hard. Her hand began to glow with a warm, white light. When she moved her hand, a new black beaded eye had appeared on Pinky.

“He’s all better!” Hope said happily. She hugged Pinky while Emma and Killian beamed at their daughter.

*******

She examined the small, black bead in her palm. It would do. She placed in on a shelf in her lab.

She had realized she needed somewhere private to work. Robin was always snooping in the forest. She’d found an abandoned RV deep in the woods. A quick check revealed it had belonged to a man named August, who was Pinocchio in the fairytale world. He had once turned to wood lying in the van.

Now it was rusting and abandoned. A simple concealment spell allowed her to turn the inside into a magical workshop, while to passersby it would still appear as nothing but an old, rusting van. She was impressed by her own cleverness. Now she had somewhere to brew her curse where no one would find her. 

She had decided on a curse recently. She’d thought about sending Hope the way of one of her squirrels, but that was too easy. She wanted Hope to suffer like she had. So it would be a curse. And the little black bead was the first ingredient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to include scenes of Emma teaching Hope magic. Since Henry didn’t have magic, we’ve never seen Emma teaching like this, so I had to draw it all from my imagination. I hope I did it justice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some fluffy family moments for the Swan-Jones-Charming family. I hope you enjoy!

Killian told Emma about Robin’s warnings, and Emma’s heart sank at the knowledge that their peaceful lives might again be disrupted by a witch’s schemes. Emma decided to keep a closer watch on Hope, and she put a protection spell on Hope’s heart similar to the one Regina had put on Henry’s heart in Neverland. She also put a protection spell around the house so Hope and Killian would be safe when she wasn’t there. Finally, she decided to start investigating what Alice was doing in the woods.

The next day, however, was Saturday, and the family had big plans, so Emma’s investigation would have to wait. Every year the Charmings held a huge picnic on their farm in midsummer, followed by a casual outdoor ball during the evening. Friends gathered from all over the realms to visit, and the family appreciated the chance to celebrate their hard-won happiness. 

Emma, Killian and Hope arrived at the farm bright and early, ready to help with the preparations. When they arrived, Henry, Cinderella and Lucy were already there. “Henry!” Emma exclaimed happily, hugging her son. One perk of Regina merging the realms was that Henry and his wife and daughter could visit much more easily and often. Still, Emma wished deep down that he still lived in Storybrooke. She was grateful for every visit with her son.

“Henry, Henry, did you bring me a book?” Hope asked excitedly, bouncing on her toes and tugging at his sleeve. It was Henry’s tradition to give Hope a new book to read every time he visited. Henry grinned and knelt down. “You think I’d forget my baby sister?” He reached into a bag next to the door and pulled out a book called “Madeleine.” “It’s about a little girl who lives in Paris and has lots of adventures,” Henry explained. Hope looked at the book with delight, tracing the picture of the little girl with the red hair and blue dress. “Oh, thank you, Henry!” she cried, and threw her arms around her brother in a big hug.

“Hold that pose.” David was fiddling with his new iPhone, trying to get a perfect picture of his grandkids. It had become a hobby of his to post artistic photos on Instagram, and he’d gotten quite good at it. Hope and Henry tried to prolong their hug somewhat awkwardly until Snow interrupted. “David, the kids are going to have plastic smiles on their faces by the time you find the perfect light,” she teased gently. David quickly finished the photo session, and then Lucy grabbed Hope’s hand. “Come on, Hope! Let’s go play on the rope swing in the barn” she said. The two girls ran off together, giggling happily.

The adults busied themselves getting ready for the picnic. Large tables with red and white checkered tablecloths were set up in the backyard under shade trees. Granny had supplied some of her most popular dishes, and Snow had contributed food as well. Emma had magicked up several of her favorite desserts. Killian and David set up lawn games for the guests, putting up a badminton net and laying out a croquet course.

Around 11:00, guests began to arrive. As they welcomed family and friends from across the realms, the Charmings’ large backyard began to fill with queens and kings, princes and princesses, pirates, merry men, warriors, and (good) witches of all sorts. Snow was in her element as hostess, graciously welcoming her friends to her home. 

Soon the picnic was in full swing, with everyone enjoying the food, the warm Storybrooke sunshine, and each other’s company. After they had been well fed, the children began playing in the yard, using sticks from the trees to practice their sword fighting skills. Killian watched Hope dueling with Lucy, and saw with pride that his daughter was doing a pretty good job keeping up with the older girl.

“I don’t think I’m as good a teacher as you were,” Henry said ruefully, walking up up from behind Killian. “Well, you were a good student, but I did have 200 years of practice, lad,” Killian responded, patting his stepson on the shoulder fondly as he remembered countless hours spent fencing with Henry in their backyard and on the Jolly Roger. When he had fallen in love with Emma, she hadn’t been the only one whose strength, courage, and kind nature had saved him from centuries of darkness. Henry, too, had found his way into Killian’s heart and helped him believe again. Henry may not be his blood, but to Killian he was as much his son as Hope was his daughter.

Hope and Lucy noticed their fathers watching them. “Daddy!” Hope cried, running up to him, “You and Henry should duel with us, too! We’re pretending I’m you, and Lucy is Peter Pan.” 

“And what about the brave prince?” David interrupted, striding up to where the group was gathered, his arms outstretched in mock indignation. “You didn’t think I’d miss a good swordfight, did you?” 

“I’ll take this one!” said Prince Neal, running up to his father, brandishing his stick in a challenge. “Hope, you take the fearsome pirate there,” he grinned, gesturing to Killian, “and Lucy, you take that one,” he pointed at Henry. They all ran into the field, and soon an epic stick battle was underway.

*********

Nearby, taking a break from her hostessing duties, Snow stood in the shade of a tree near the field where the children and their fathers were playing. She thought of all they had been through to reach this moment—curses, separations, memory spells, dark demons that had possessed her loved ones. Each one had failed to break the family she and David had begun all those years ago. The love that united them all had been stronger than the darkest magic any villain could throw at them.

“Think they can handle those guys?” Emma asked teasingly, walking up to her mother as she watched her father, husband and son dueling with the children.

“No, but don’t worry. The kids will go easy on the old men,” Snow smirked.

Emma laughed, and then the two were silent a while. After a few minutes, Snow asked, “So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Wrong?” Emma asked, “Who said anything was wrong?”

“Emma, please, I know my daughter,” Snow responded, studying Emma’s face, “What is it?”

Emma sighed, her gaze still on the sword fight, “I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure there was something to worry about. I wanted to investigate first.”

“Investigate what?”

Emma looked at her little girl, giggling and smiling happily as she gently struck Killian in the side with her stick and he fell back in mock pain. “Ow, you got me!” he teased. A lump formed in her throat. She couldn’t imagine her life without them. She had to protect them.

“It’s Hope,” Emma said finally. “We’re worried she’s in danger. That we’re all in danger.”

“What? Why?” Snow asked in concern.

“Robin came to talk to Killian yesterday while I was giving Hope her magic lesson,” Emma explained. “She said Alice has been disappearing into the woods, practicing dark magic and using it to hurt animals.”

“Whoa,” Snow breathed. “I didn’t know she was still in Storybrooke. I haven’t seen her since Rogers’ funeral. So she still blames Hope for his death?”

“It seems like it,” Emma frowned. “But she hasn’t done anything yet, as far as we know—besides turning a squirrel into barbecue. I can’t arrest her for that. I need to find out what she’s doing in the woods.”

“If you need my help, let me know,” Snow told her. “I may not have magic, but no one has beaten me yet with my bow. And no one is a better tracker than I am.”

“I know. I may take you up on that.” 

As Emma spoke, Hope came running up as fast as her little legs could carry her. She threw herself at Emma, hugging her around the waste. “Mommy! Are you and grandma going to swordfight with us?”

Emma smiled down at her daughter, smoothing her hair as Hope looked up at her expectantly. “Hmmm...it looks like your Daddy and Grandpa could use a break. What do you say, Mom?”

Snow smiled and took her granddaughter’s hand. “Lead the way, my little princess.” Hope grinned. Emma took Hope’s other hand, and the trio strolled out to join the others, three generations of family, strength and love. Snow knew that love would always protect them. No matter what that witch had planned, they would win.

**********

Later than evening, as the sun was setting, the picnickers changed for the dance. Emma used her magic to clear aside the tables to create a dance floor. Then she sprinkled white twinkle lights and lanterns throughout the trees above. The effect was stunning. The Charmings’ backyard looked like a fairy land.

Meanwhile, Henry took charge of music, setting up a table with his laptop and speakers where he could play DJ. He had selected a variety of songs from the Land Without Magic, eager to introduce the visitors to some of his favorite choices. Although the music was new to them, the guests quickly warmed to it. Soon the dance floor was full, and the children were right in the middle, bouncing up and down to the music. 

Hope was with them, wearing a white dress of eyelet lace and a flower crown of white daisies over her blonde curls. She spotted her father, who had come out on the dance floor to check on his little girl. “Daddy, dance!” she begged, reaching both arms up to him. Killian smiled down at her, wondering how he had gotten so lucky to have this beautiful little angel in his life. His daughter. His little baby swan. He scooped Hope up and twirled her across the dance floor as she giggled with delight. 

“Daddy, will you teach me to dance like you taught Mommy in Henry’s book?” Hope asked, looking into his eyes and putting her little hand on his cheek. 

“Of course, little love,” Killian promised. “Every princess must learn to waltz properly.” 

Hope smiled, “And pirate captains, too.” She reminded him. “I’m both.” 

“Yes, you are, little cygnet,” he smiled, hugging her tight and kissing her cheek as he spun them around.

When the song ended, Granny summoned the children from the dance floor. “Who wants ice cream?” she called. The children raced towards a table Granny had set up in the corner with dozens of flavors of ice cream, plus more toppings than the children had ever seen. Soon they were settled around Granny on hay bales, happily enjoying their dessert.

After Killian helped Hope make a glorious ice cream sundae with whipped cream and extra sprinkles, he turned to look for Emma. He saw her across the dance floor talking to Snow, and he froze for a moment, transfixed. She looked stunning. She had changed into a delicate light blue floral dress that draped off her shoulders. Her hair was pulled up in a loose bun, with stray pieces of her soft blonde curls framing her face. Emma still took his breath away after all these years. He still felt like pinching himself that his life wasn’t a dream, that this beautiful, brave, strong, kind woman was his wife. Not just his wife, but his true love. 

He made his way around the edge of the dance floor until he reached her. He gently tapped her shoulder and then bowed teasingly. “May I have this dance, milady?” he asked with a grin.

“Hmm...I don’t know, Captain. I’ve heard you’re a notorious pirate.” Emma played along.

Killian raised an eyebrow. “Are you afraid I’ll steal your heart?” he smirked.

“I think it’s already been stolen,” she smiled, biting her lip. She stepped into his arms, as Snow just grinned and shook her head in amusement.

Killian drew Emma close, and they gently swayed around the dance floor as the strains of “God Bless the Broken Road” played on the warm summer breeze. Tiny white lights twinkled above them, bathing them in a soft glow. Emma rested her head on his shoulder, breathing in the moment and wondering to herself how amazing it was that she still felt butterflies dancing in his arms. 

*************

Across the dance floor, Robin watched the couple with a mixture of fondness for her friends and sadness for the state of her own broken romance. That morning, she’d found the ring she’d given Alice on the counter. There was no note, no explanation. All of Alice’s things were gone. And Robin knew it was over. It had been over for a long time. She just hadn’t been able to admit it to herself.

Robin’s thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind her. “Robin? Is that you?” Robin turned around to see a familiar woman with jet black hair and warm brown eyes smiling at her. “Mulan!” Robin exclaimed. She forgot her sadness for a moment and broke into a smile as one of her father’s dearest friends pulled her into a hug.

“I’m so happy you were able to come!” Robin told the older woman sincerely. “I haven’t seen you since I was a little girl!” Mulan smiled. “Well, Snow was so disappointed we couldn’t make it the last couple of years. We couldn’t let her down again.” 

“We?” Robin asked. 

“Yes, Robin, I’d like you to meet my wife, Moana,” she said, introducing a pretty woman with brown curls and a friendly smile. “And this is our daughter, Skye.” A beautiful young lady with soft black hair and sparkling brown eyes stepped forward. “So you’re the famous Robin?” she said, “My mother has told me all about you. Although she forgot to mention how beautiful you are,” she added with a mischievous smile. Robin blushed. 

Skye opened her mouth to say more, but suddenly, without warning, there was a loud crash from beyond the dance floor. Robin looked up in horror to see what appeared to be a large tree stomping across the field towards the party, crashing through a fence and knocking over the Charmings’ scarecrow.

Chaos ensued. The children started screaming. Killian and David quickly grabbed them and ushered them into the house, swords drawn and anxious looks on their faces as they put themselves between the monster and the youngest members of their family.

Robin watched as arrows began striking the creature, and she looked for the source, spotting Snow standing near the barn with her bow. The arrows hadn’t stopped the creature, but they seemed to slow it down slightly. “Excuse me,” Robin said to Mulan and her family, as she dashed into the house to find her own weapon. Mulan drew her sword and began striding towards the fight.

Meanwhile, the monster was bearing down on Snow, who had run out of arrows. Fortunately, Emma was already approaching the creature from the other side. “Hey, you, get away from my mom!” she yelled, tossing a rock that hit it from behind. The creature turned with some difficulty, spying Emma and roaring. It began clomping towards her, the ground shaking with each thunderous step.

Emma closed her eyes in concentration, blinding white light appearing in each of her hands. She drew her hands back, then threw them forward, sending the force of her magic careening towards the monster. It worked. The monster broke into a million pieces, and then it disappeared.

Snow ran towards her daughter as Mulan approached from the other side. “What was that?” Mulan asked. “I don’t know,” said Emma. But I’m afraid I might know who sent it.” She met Snow’s eyes and they both turned as they saw Robin coming out of the house with her bow and arrow.

************

Later that night, David carried a sleeping Hope out to Emma’s yellow bug, while Emma and Killian said their goodbyes. He carefully buckled her into her car seat and gently placed her beloved pink swan in her lap. Hope hugged the swan to her chest without opening her eyes, a sweet smile on her face. David kissed his granddaughter’s forehead and stepped back.

The children had taken the attack on the party in stride. At first they were terrified, but when Emma used her magic to destroy the monster who had attacked them, they’d cheered her on with excitement. Hope was beside herself with pride at how Mommy had saved the day. Storybrooke had been peaceful for all of her life, but she’d been raised on stories of her heroic parents and grandparents. Seeing Mommy in action from the (relative) safety of the farmhouse was quite amazing.

Although Hope and the other children thankfully had not been too traumatized by the creature that had disrupted their celebration, their parents had discussed the threat with concern for the rest of the evening. Emma was sure it had been Alice, especially after Robin informed them that she had once turned Gothel into a tree. Now as Emma and Killian prepared to leave, Snow and Mulan both insisted on accompanying Emma to investigate the forest the next morning.

Having said their goodbyes, Killian opened the car door for Emma and started walking around to the driver’s side. Then he saw it. Or rather, he didn’t see it. The license plate in the front of Emma’s car was missing. “Swan,” he called, “What happened to the little sign that goes on the front of your vessel?” Emma jumped out of the car and together they looked at the empty front bumper. “Did it fall off?” he asked.

Emma bent down and looked at the ground. She saw a couple of small bolts that had held the license plate in place. “No,” she said, picking one up. “It was removed right here in the driveway. Someone took it deliberately.”

“But why?” Killian asked. 

Emma shook her head in confusion. “I have no idea.”

****************

She placed the savior’s license plate on the shelf next to the black bead from Hope’s pink swan. It had been so easy to distract those fools with that walking tree. While everyone was focused on the uproar in the backyard, she had crept from the shadows and easily removed the prized object with her magic. Now she had the second ingredient she needed to enact her curse. 

And none too soon. She had watched them all night, fury rising within her with every new scene that flashed before her—the other Hook playing with his daughter, dancing with her under the stars, Emma holding Hope’s hand and play sword fighting with her, and Emma dancing in the arms of the other Hook. They had everything she and her Papa had never had, could never have. 

Angrily, she threw one of her spell books across the workshop. She would make them pay for everything she had suffered. Soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emma is in full mama bear protection mode in this chapter, and Killian gives Hope a sailing lesson. Thanks for reading!

Emma awoke the next morning to tiny feet climbing over her. Her eyes were closed, but she could feel Hope squeeze into bed between her and Killian and cover her head with their quilt. She was giggling. It was one of her favorite games.

“I think there’s a lump in our bed, love,” Killian said to Emma. The lump giggled again.

Emma patted the quilt, pretending she didn’t know what it was. “Maybe it’s a tiger,” she teased. More giggling.

“Too giggly to be a tiger,” Killian mused. “A goose, maybe?”

“Nah, it doesn’t have a beak,” said Emma, poking gently at the quilt. “I wonder what it could be?”

Hope couldn’t control her excitement any longer. She threw off the covers, hair sticking out in all directions from the static. “It’s me! It’s Hope!”

“Hope!” said Emma, feigning surprise. “We didn’t know it was you!”

Killian grinned, “To what do we owe the honor of our little cygnet’s presence in our bed this morning?”

“It’s Sunday, Daddy!” Hope said excitedly. “You promised to give me a sailing lesson on my ship today!”

“Ah, little love, so I did,” Killian remembered. “Why don’t you go downstairs and start looking at the maps? Mommy and Daddy will be down soon to have breakfast.”

“Ok, Daddy,” Hope said brightly. She jumped off the bed and darted from the room. 

Killian waited until he heard Hope’s feet pitter patter down the stairs. “Swan,” he said in a low voice, “I don’t want to disappoint Hope, but maybe we should see if David can keep an eye on her today so I can join you and the others in your search of the forest.”

Emma took his hand thoughtfully and interlaced her fingers with his. “I’d like to have you with me. We always work best as a team. But I don’t want this witch to succeed in disrupting our lives. I don’t want her to stop us from spending time with Hope. Then she wins.”

Killian brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently. “You’re right, love,” he sighed, “I just want to make sure our family is safe.” 

“I know,” Emma replied, touching his cheek softly. “Besides,” she teased, “if I have to rescue you again, it’ll just slow me down.”

Killian raised an eyebrow, “Oh, is that so? I seem to recall providing some quite valuable services from time to time, Swan.”

“Really?” Emma grinned, tapping her finger to her chin. “Um, I can’t seem to recall any right now.”

“Mmmm...” he bent down to whisper in her ear, “Maybe I can help you remember.” He began pressing kisses behind her ear and along her neck. Emma’s heart raced at his touch, and she reached up, tangling her fingers in his hair. Slowly, he inched his hand up under her silk camisole.

“Mommy!” cried a little voice from downstairs. “Can I please have some juice?”

Emma laughed softly as Killian sighed, pressing his forehead to her shoulder. “Looks like we’ll have to take a rain check until tonight, sailor,” she whispered. Killian stood, reached out his hand to help Emma up from the bed, and they went down the stairs together to have breakfast with their daughter.

************  
A couple of hours later, the family was standing on the deck of the Jolly Roger. Hope was bouncing around on the wooden planks excitedly. She was wearing her “daddy jacket” today, a long black leather jacket Snow had made to match her father’s favorite sailing attire. Her golden curls were pulled back with a black headscarf—to look more “pirate-y,” as Hope put it—and she had completed the look with black boots and a plastic sword her grandfather had given her. She carefully pulled out one of her father’s maps and began informing Pinky where they were going.

Emma had accompanied Killian and Hope to the ship so she could place protection spells over it to guard her husband and daughter during their sail. She strode around the deck, hands outstretched, and Hope looked up in wonder as Emma whispered enchantments. The spells initially created colorful cocoons around them, then faded into invisible shields. After several minutes, Emma was satisfied. “There. Now no one but the three of us can board the ship, at least until I take the spell off. And no one can harm either of you while you are on board.”

Killian put his arms around Emma and kissed her gently. “Thank you, love,” he said. “Please be careful in the forest. I know you and your mother can handle yourselves, but we have no idea what that witch is planning.”

“Hey, I’m always careful,” she responded, and Killian raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, almost always.” He smiled and kissed her again, then watched her walk down the gangplank and into her yellow bug to drive out to the Charmings’ farm.

Killian turned to his daughter, “Well, little cygnet, ready to shove off?” 

“Aye-aye, sir!” Hope responded, saluting him. Killian grinned at his daughter and began showing her how to make the ship ready to leave the dock.

********

A short while later, Emma, Snow and Mulan carefully made their way through the forest. Realizing that going in blind would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, they had stopped at Gold’s pawn shop before setting out. Gideon now ran both the pawn shop and Belle’s library on a part-time basis. He provided them with an enchanted amulet that could sense when magic had touched a particular location. It wasn’t foolproof—a lot of magic had been done in the forest over the years—but it narrowed their search considerably. 

Now they were trudging through the forest with Emma holding the amulet in her outstretched hand. The amulet glowed with a red light when it came near a place that had experienced magic. They already had several false alarms, especially in the vicinity of the wishing well and the lake, as both places had seen a great deal of magic over the years. Deeper in the forest, however, the amulet was quiet for a long while, and the searchers were growing weary. To pass the time, Mulan regaled them with stories of her adventures and tales of her courtship with her wife. 

After several hours of searching, Emma was about to give up and suggest calling it a day when they spotted a large hulk of metal through the trees. As they grew closer, she realized what it was. It was August’s old van, now rusted and ready for the junk heap. She glanced at the amulet, which was now glowing a brilliant red. That was no surprise—magic had certainly existed here. August had turned to wood in this van. But something told Emma that the brilliant red glow emitting from the amulet indicated that magic had been done here much more recently. She stopped, pulling a gun from the waistband of her jeans.

Mulan drew her sword and Snow raised her bow, arrow drawn. Emma put a finger to her lips, motioning them to be silent. They crept closer. Emma’s heart beat faster as she reached the door. Standing to the side, she took a deep breath and used her fingers to silently count to three. Then she flung the door open and quickly stepped through, gun at the ready.

The van was empty.

Emma looked around, checking under the seats. “I guess it was another false alarm,” she said, although she didn’t feel entirely convinced. She had enough experience with magic that she knew what it felt like, and this place radiated magic. Dark magic. It sent shivers up Emma’s spine as she gazed around the empty space.

Turning to Snow and Mulan, she said, “I’m going to try something. Stand back.”

Emma closed her eyes and remembered a spell that Gold had once showed her. It could reveal magic that had once existed in a place even after it was gone. Emma reached out her hand, willing the van to reveal its secrets. Slowly, a new scene appeared before them as if it were a hologram.

Items came into view. Spell books, candles, a large cauldron, and various talismans, along with items Emma assumed were potential ingredients for a spell.

“Whoa!” said Mulan. “What is this?”

“This is what was here at one time,” Emma explained. “The spell I did shows what used to be in this spot.”

“It looks like someone was using this van as a magical workshop of some kind.” Mulan remarked. “But who? And when?”

Emma concentrated harder, and another vision appeared sitting on a bench reading a spell book. It was Alice—at least, it was a hologram of Alice. “She was here,” Emma frowned, “Robin’s suspicions were right.”

“Um, Emma, I think you should see this.” Snow was standing near a hologram of a large bookshelf. On one of the shelves, there were two items. The larger was unmistakably the license plate from Emma’s bug. “She stole my plate!” Emma fumed, striding across the van to her mother. 

When Emma got closer, she saw the other item and gasped, “What the hell?” On the shelf was a small black bead with a little bit of black thread stuck to it. Emma suddenly felt nauseous, and her face went ashen. 

“What is it?” Snow asked.

“It’s the beaded eye from Hope’s stuffed swan. She lost it the other day when we were practicing magic near the lake.” Fire blazed in Emma’s eyes. “That witch was stalking my daughter.”

Emma turned and strode from the van. “Come on,” she said to the other two women, “We’re getting out of here.”

“Where are we going?” Mulan asked.

Emma turned to look back at her. “We’re going to fight that witch the best way I know how,” she said defiantly, smiling grimly at them, “By bringing in a witch of our own.” 

************  
The Jolly Roger danced through the summer surf, cutting easily through the gentle waves. It was a beautiful day for sailing, with only a few puffy white clouds dotting the bright blue summer sky. Hope was at the helm, wearing her black jacket and standing on a special step stool that David had made especially for her. It attached to the helm securely and allowed Hope to reach the top of the wheel.

Killian stood behind Hope with his arm around her waist, making sure she didn’t fall and that she kept good control of the ship. “That’s it, little cygnet. Just keep her on a steady course,” he said, gazing proudly at his daughter.

Hope had inherited her father’s love of the sea. When she was a baby and was fussy, especially from teething, a trip on the Jolly Roger always soothed her. Emma and Killian brought her on the ship often to allow the gentle rocking of the ship to lull her to sleep. Now that she was older, she stood on the deck in the bright sunlight, breathing in the salty sea air while the breeze caught her golden curls.

“Daddy,” Hope asked, “Who taught you to sail?”

“My brother Liam,” replied Killian.

“Which one?” Hope responded.

Killian laughed gently. “A fair question, little love. The older one. He and I grew up on a ship where we were forced to work for the captain. Liam was older, and he learned to sail first. Then he taught me.”

“Do you miss him?” Hope asked.

“Aye,” said Killian, a note of sadness in his tone. “But his spirit still lives here on this ship, in a way. And teaching you to sail, passing on to you what your uncle taught me, helps keep his memory alive.”

Hope considered this for a moment. Then she turned slightly and threw her arms around her father in a tight hug. “I’m sorry Uncle Liam is gone. But I’m glad you have me and Mommy to take care of you now.”

Killian hugged her back, his eyes watering slightly. “Me, too, cygnet. Me too.”

After a few moments, Killian pulled back from the hug and ruffled Hope’s hair fondly. “So, little love, I think it’s time to come about and start heading back towards Storybrooke.”

“Aw, do we have to?” Hope asked.

“Aye, we need to get back in time for dinner. Mommy will be waiting for us.”

“O.k., Daddy, but can we please sing one of your pirate songs on the way?” Hope pleaded.

Killian smiled. “I know one that a good friend taught me. She has the most beautiful voice of any mermaid I’ve ever met.” And as they prepared to make the turn for home, he began to sing:

_I’ll tell you a tale of the bottomless blue_  
_And it’s hey to the starboard, heave ho_  
_Look out, lad, a mermaid be waiting for you_  
_In mysterious fathoms below._

********* 

While Hope and Killian were making their way back to Storybrooke, Emma, Snow and Mulan were sitting in Zelena’s living room. Zelena was sipping a green apple martini as Emma recounted what they had found in the woods. 

“Well, it seems obvious she’s brewing a curse,” Zelena stated, running her finger along the rim of her glass thoughtfully. 

“But doesn’t she need the heart of the person she loves most?” Snow asked, as visions of the horrible moment she crushed David’s heart flashed through her mind. 

“That’s for a dark curse meant to curse an entire kingdom, darling,” Zelena replied. “There are many curses that are much less ambitious and can be enacted with much less fuss.” 

“Why would she need my license plate and the bead from Hope’s toy swan?” Emma asked. 

“Hmm...” said Zelena, “It sounds like she’s creating a targeted curse.” 

“A targeted curse?” 

“A curse can be designed to target just one or a small handful of people,” Zelena explained. “But you need a token for each person, a little piece of something that is special to them.” 

“So a piece of my car and a piece of Hope’s favorite toy,” Emma said grimly. “She’s targeting us for a curse.” 

“I’m afraid so,” Zelena replied. “And unfortunately she has very powerful dark magic.” 

Emma stood up, “Thanks for your help, Zelena. I need to get to the docks to meet Killian and Hope. I put a protection spell on them while they were on the Jolly Roger, and I need to be there when they return. After what you told me, Hope’s in even more danger than I realized.” 

Zelena stood up as well. “Speaking of protection spells, I have something that just might help. Wait here.” 

Zelena left the room and returned a few moments later with a small, smooth white rock in her hand. “It’s just a prototype,” she said. 

“What does it do?” Snow asked. 

“It protects your memories from a curse,” Zelena told them. “I started designing it after the last curse wiped my memories. I don’t intend to fall victim to that again. You hold the stone in your hand, and when the curse hits, it may transport you to a different time or place, but your memories stay intact.” 

Zelena handed the stone to Emma, who turned it over in her palm. “Thank you,” she said gratefully. 

“Well, you know,” said Zelena a little awkwardly. “Trying to stay on the good side now and all. Besides,” she went on, “that little witch broke Robin’s heart. I’d love to help spoil her plans.” 

Emma thanked her again, and the three women left the house. Emma gripped the memory stone tightly. She felt a little better knowing she had a backup plan. 

*********  
Killian maneuvered the Jolly Roger next to the dock and tied her up. He spotted Emma’s yellow bug driving up as he was about to lower the gangplank. “Mommy!” cried Hope, smiling and waving happily from the deck. 

Emma got out of the car and walked up to the ship. Killian could tell from the look in her eyes that she was worried, but she didn’t let Hope see it. “Hey, kiddo, how was your sailing lesson?” she asked. 

“We had so much fun, Mommy!” Hope beamed. “Daddy let me steer, and we sang mermaid songs.” 

“Mermaid songs!” Emma exclaimed. “Are you going to be a mermaid now?” 

“Nah,” said Hope, “I’d rather be captain of the ship. But I’d like to meet a mermaid. Can we, Mommy?” 

“Hmm...sounds like I need to arrange a visit with Ariel,” Emma smiled. “But right now, we need to get home for dinner. Go jump in the car, baby. Daddy and I will be there in a minute.” 

Hope skipped down the gangplank and jumped into the back seat of the bug. As Emma watched, Killian came up behind her. “How bad is it?” he asked. 

“We think she’s planning a curse,” Emma sighed, arms folded across her chest. “One that targets Hope and our family specifically.” 

Killian felt a lump form in his throat as he thought of the danger they were in. He gently turned Emma so she was facing him and touched her cheek tenderly. “Swan, we’ll get through this. Whatever she’s planning, we’ll win. We always do.” 

“I know,” Emma said, looking down. “It’s just that it’s not only us this time. Or my parents. She’s after Hope. She’s after our baby.” Emma fought back tears as she looked into his eyes. “I won’t let it happen. I won’t let that witch hurt her,” she said fiercely, grabbing onto his arms. 

“That’s my Swan,” Killian said with pride in his voice. “I’ve yet to see you fail,” he reminded her, and Emma managed a small smile at the words he had spoken to her years ago in Neverland. “And I’ll be right there fighting by your side. I’ll be damned if I let that witch harm our daughter. Or you.” 

He pulled her into his arms and held her close for a few moments so they could both take comfort in each other. The sun was setting and the evening was growing cooler. Killian took Emma’s hand and led her down the gangplank to the car. 

******** 

As the family drove away, Alice stepped out from her hiding place behind a nearby shed. So the savior suspected what she was doing. It was fortunate that she’d heard Emma and her friends clomping around the woods and magically removed everything from her workshop before they could confiscate it. She had concealed everything in a new location, but she would have to work faster now that Emma was tracking her moves. 

She laughed to herself. The savior. Emma thought she could stop her, but it was too late for that. Her plan was almost complete. She only needed one more piece. 

Alice concealed herself with an invisibility spell and walked up to the Jolly Roger. As she tried to board, however, she was suddenly flung backward and landed hard on the sand. Cursing, she realized Emma had placed a protection spell on the ship. 

“Clever move, savior,” Alice said to herself. “But there are ways around protection spells. It’s only a matter of time before you lose everything. And then you’ll be alone, just like me.” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Swan-Jones family tries to continue their lives as normally as possible while under the shadow of the latest threat. This chapter is basically the calm before the storm.

The next few days were uneventful. Emma and Killian went about their jobs as sheriff and deputy keeping an extra eye out for Alice, but there was no sign of her. No one had seen her for days. It was as if she had dropped off the face of the earth.

They tried to avoid showing concern around Hope. They didn’t want to scare her or disrupt her routine. She was such a sweet, happy little girl, and both Killian and Emma had tried to give her everything they never had—a loving home, parents who would always be there for her, a childhood free from loneliness and fear. Now they were both prepared to fight to protect the life they had made for themselves and their daughter.

But there was nothing to fight. They knew the threat was out there, but they couldn’t see it. It was frustrating as hell. All they could do was attempt to keep enjoying the quiet moments while staying vigilant and just...waiting.

**********

A few days after Killian and Hope’s sailing lesson, Gideon stood outside the door of his mother’s beloved library. It was late evening in Storybrooke, and the sky was starting to grow dark. Gideon carefully locked the door, then gave it a little shake.

Belle had passed her love of books on to her son. He started learning to read when he was barely old enough to speak. His fondest memories were cuddling with his mother in his bed as she read his bedtime stories. Each book was a new adventure, a journey they could take together. It was like magic.

When he had returned to Storybrooke, Gideon had decided to run the library in her memory. He split his time between the library and his father’s shop. The shop was where he earned a living, but books were his passion.

This evening, Gideon took extra care to make sure the library doors were locked securely. Although he couldn’t prove it, lately he had the feeling that someone had been entering the library uninvited when he wasn’t there. Books had gone missing. Other books seemed to move overnight, showing up in places where he was certain they hadn’t been the day before. Gideon made a mental note to talk to Emma about it. Maybe she could help him find a magical solution to catch the intruder.

*********

As Gideon walked away from the library, Alice crept out of the elevator. She had found the ideal location for her new workshop—the cave where Regina had once kept Maleficent prisoner. It was perfect. No one had been down there in years, and it gave her ready access to the library.

She had been searching for days for a way to break the protection spell Emma had put on the Jolly Roger. Every day her frustration grew as she came up empty. Worse, the librarian was getting suspicious. He was the Dark One’s son, and he had magic. Alice was worried he might sense the presence of other magic in the building. She needed an answer. Now.

She pored over books for hours, each more useless than the last. The sky started to grow lighter outside and she knew she’d have to return to the cave soon or risk being caught. Then she found it.

Hidden in a dusty old volume, she found the solution she needed. It was a spell that would allow her to get past the enchantments protecting the ship. It was complicated, though, and there was an essential ingredient she would have to find. Fortunately, she knew just where to look.

********

“Now, mister, you stay in there until you can learn to behave yourself.” Hope instructed. She was standing in front of a cell at the sheriff’s office, hands on her hips, with a yellow paper sheriff’s badge taped to her shirt. She had made it herself, and “sheriff” was spelled “sharif.” Killian was inside the cell, sticking his lower lip out in a pout. 

“This is Deputy Pinky,” Sheriff Hope continued. She brandished the pink plush swan, who was wearing his own paper badge labeled “deputee.” “He’ll be watching you!” Hope warned. Killian cocked a skeptical eyebrow at the “deputee” as Hope placed him just outside the cell door.

Killian and Emma had brought Hope to the station with them as a precautionary measure. With Alice missing, Emma thought it best for the three of them to stick close together as much as possible. Besides, other than the occasional drunk dwarf, Storybrooke didn’t have much crime these days, so it wasn’t much hassle to have Hope with them at the station.

Emma watched Sheriff Hope dressing down the “prisoner.” She chuckled. “Why is Daddy in the cell?” she asked Hope in amusement.

“We’re just pretending, Mommy,” Hope whispered. Then, in a louder voice she announced, “This prisoner was caught red-handed.”

“Red-handed?” asked Emma, “Doing what?”

“Having a red hand,” Hope said, as if it were obvious. 

Emma looked at Killian quizzically. He held up his hand, grinned, and winked. The palm of his hand was indeed red, courtesy of Hope’s red marker. Emma bit back a laugh.

Hope sauntered over to Emma’s desk. “Well, we got him, partner,” she said. 

Emma smiled, playing along, “We sure did, partner.”

Then, hesitating a bit, Hope asked, “Um, what do you do after you put the prisoner in the cell?”

“Well, he just stays there until it’s time to let him go,” Emma explained. “You have to feed him, though.”

“What do prisoners eat?” wondered Hope.

“Hmmm...” said Emma, “Today, how about grilled cheese and onion rings from Granny’s?”

“Yes!” Hope answered happily. “Can I call Granny?”

Emma looked at her daughter in amusement. She handed Hope her cell phone. Emma had Granny’s number on speed dial, of course. Hope pushed the button and waited.

“Granny’s,” came a familiar voice at the other end.

“Granny, it’s me! It’s Hope!”

“Why, hello there, Hope. What can I do for you?” Granny responded.

“Can you please send grilled cheese and onion rings to the sheriff station for me and Mommy and Daddy?” Hope asked.

“Do you have your parents’ permission?” Granny replied.

“Yes, Granny, just put it on my tab,” Emma interjected.

“Will do,” said Granny. “I’ll send it over soon.”

A short time later, the family was gathered around Emma’s desk enjoying lunch. Hope had granted her “prisoner” parole, and Killian sat next to her, occasionally helping her wipe melty cheese from her face.

As they were finishing lunch, the office phone rang. Emma grabbed it. “Sheriff’s office,” she said automatically.

“Emma, it’s Marcus.”

“Marcus?” Emma asked. “What’s wrong?”

“I heard you were looking for Alice,” he told her, “I was out in the forest near the Storybrooke sign looking for wood for my next project, and I saw her walking around near the town line. It seemed like she was studying it.”

“I wonder what she’s up to? I’d better go check it out. Thanks for letting me know, Marcus,” she said.

“I’m always happy to be of service, Emma,” he replied.

Emma hung up and walked with Killian to the other side of the room, out of Hope’s earshot. “Marcus thinks he saw Alice out near the town line. I’m going to go check it out. Stay close to Hope, o.k.?”

“I will,” Killian promised. “Be careful, Swan.” He kissed her check gently. Emma grabbed her keys and rushed out the door.

************

Alice smirked as she hung up the phone. It had been so easy to magically disguise her voice as Marcus. And the savior had fallen for it. Now she would be gone for at least an hour or so, exactly what Alice needed for the next step in her plan.

She conjured a mirror in front of her and studied her reflection. Then, with a flick of her wrist, the image changed. Brown boots, jeans, long blonde hair, green eyes, and that unmistakable red leather jacket. The savior was now smiling back at her from the mirror.

Disguised as Emma, Alice hurried up the elevator from Maleficent’s cave. She peered out the door to the library, making sure no one was watching. Then she quickly slipped out the door and hurried down the street.

************

Gideon carefully placed a gilded egg encrusted with rubies into a display cabinet in the pawn shop. The egg had once belonged to Anastasia, the daughter of a mighty emperor. It was said to have magic properties, but Gideon had yet to discover any.

Although the library was his first love, Gideon knew his job at the pawn shop was important. Many of the objects his father had collected contained powerful magic. Gideon saw it as his duty to make certain they were used responsibly and didn’t fall into the wrong hands.

As he was shutting the display case, the bell on the door jingled. Gideon looked up. It was the sheriff. “Hello, Emma,” he said with a friendly smile, “what can I do for you?”

She gazed around the pawn shop. “I need something,” she told him. “A sword. It belonged to a man named Blackbeard.”

“Blackbeard?” Gideon asked curiously, “Wasn’t he Killian’s enemy?”

“Yeah, well, that’s right,” she responded. “Blackbeard stole the sword from Killian’s ship. He wants it back to, uh, give to Henry. As a gift.” She smiled at him.

It seemed a strange request to Gideon, but the sword didn’t have any magic, so it wasn’t really an important or dangerous object. Besides, who was he to question Emma, who had saved his life and the lives of most of his family? He went to the back room and retrieved the sword, which was sheathed in an ornate silver scabbard. 

“Here you go, Emma,” he said, laying the sword on the counter in front of her. “Blackbeard’s sword.”

“You’re certain it’s his?” she asked, examining it.

“Most definitely,” said Gideon. “My father kept meticulous records.”

“How much?’ she asked.

“Well, if Blackbeard really stole it from Killian, I don’t feel right charging you for it,” Gideon responded. “Just go ahead and take it.”

“Thanks!” she responded, and turned and rushed out the door without another word.

Gideon watched her leave. He felt uneasy. Something about the encounter didn’t feel right, but he wasn’t sure why. 

********

That evening, Emma leaned against the kitchen counter and told Killian about her trip to the town line. “Not a sign of her,” Emma told him, frustration in her voice. “I almost felt as if I was on a wild goose chase.”

“We’ll find her, Swan,” he assured her. “She can’t hide forever in this little town. And if she leaves, all the better.”

“You think she’d just give up and leave?” Emma asked skeptically.

Killian sighed and leaned against the counter next to her. “Probably not. I spent 200 years seeking revenge. If that’s what she wants, I suppose we can’t expect her to just quit.”

Just then, Hope came bouncing into the room. “Which one?” she asked brightly, holding up DVDs of Back to the Future and The Princess Bride. It was Friday night—movie night in the Swan-Jones household—and Hope was excited at the chance to stay up a little later with her parents. “Hmmm...why don’t you choose, little love?” Killian responded.

Hope gave the matter some thought. It was a momentous decision, after all. “I pick...The Princess Bride! I like how Westley says ‘as you wish,’ just like you, Daddy.” 

“So do I,” Emma smiled, standing on tiptoes to kiss her husband on the cheek. Killian blushed a little and scratched behind his ear. He hadn’t known the meaning of that phrase when he’d first said it to her in Neverland years ago, but after several viewings of Emma’s favorite film, he now understood what it had meant to her.

“Can we have popcorn, Daddy?” Hope asked, “With Milk Duds?”

“Of course, my little cygnet. We can’t forget Mommy’s favorite.” Killian said, winking at Emma. He pulled a bag of popcorn out of the cupboard and put it in the microwave. He remembered when Emma had first introduced him to the ingenious magic cooking box. It still amazed him that he could prepare food in this realm with just a touch of a button, yet they called it the “Land _Without_ Magic.”

When the popcorn was ready, Emma found the Milk Duds. Hope carefully poured both in a bowl and mixed them together to create Emma’s sticky concoction that had become a family favorite. Although Killian often teased Emma about her fondness for sweets, he had to admit that this recipe was rather delicious.

Soon the family was cuddled together on the sofa under a blanket, with Hope in the middle. Killian still marveled that this was his life. After centuries of darkness, of not allowing anyone into his heart, he now had more than he’d ever dared to dream. He put his arm around Emma and she rested her head on his shoulder as they watched Buttercup and Westley battle rodents of unusual size, escape an evil prince, and ride off into the sunrise on majestic white horses. 

As the movie neared the end, Killian interlaced his fingers with Emma’s. She sighed contentedly against him, and he kissed the top of her head, their daughter now asleep in their laps. He knew Emma was worried about the latest threat, and he was, too, yet, as silly as it might seem, watching a story of true love triumphing over evil made him feel like there was no darkness they couldn’t overcome together.

********

Late that night, when Killian, Emma and Hope were sound asleep after enjoying their movie night together, Alice made her way to the Jolly Roger. The docks were dark and deserted. A mist lay over the harbor as Storybrooke slept. Alice strode up to the ship and drew Blackbeard’s sword. She smirked a little, thinking of how she’d fooled both Emma and Gideon. And now the last ingredient for her plan was in her grasp.

The spell she had found could defeat a protection shield using an object that belonged to an owner of the place that was being guarded. Emma had designed the shield so that a mere object of Killian’s wouldn’t work. Only Killian himself could cross the shield. But Blackbeard had once owned the ship and still made a claim to it. So Alice was now standing in the dark near the Jolly Roger holding out his sword.

She took a vial of blue potion from her pocket, poured it in the sword, and whispered an enchantment. Then she walked forward holding the sword. Now she would see if the spell would work. She took another step ... and crossed through the shield and onto the gangplank. She grinned to herself. It had worked.

She strode confidently across the deck of the Jolly Roger until she found her goal. With a flick of her wrist, the ship’s bell was removed from its mount and was in her hands. Now she had the last piece. Now she was ready.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing this chapter because I loved getting into Emma’s head and examining how far she’s come since the pilot. I hope you enjoy!

Alone in Maleficent’s cave, shadows flickered around her on the stone walls as she prepared to cast the curse. To be precise, it was three curses, each designed for a specific purpose. She was using three large iron cauldrons now, each containing a potion that had been meticulously measured out and prepared for the final step. Each curse would bring a different doom upon its target.

She consulted the spell book. It was an ancient tome that had appeared plain and unassuming when she had found it in the library. In fact, it had appeared to be an old cookbook with recipes from the Enchanted Forest. Magic, however, had revealed its true form, embellished with ornate carvings of mythical creatures. Inside were spells of the darkest magic. Alice did not know who had written it, nor did she care. She guessed it had somehow ended up in Rumplestiltskin’s possession (as many dark objects had), and Belle had mistakenly added it to her library.

The cauldrons simmered and bubbled around her. Steam rose from each. It was time. When she added the final ingredients, the curses would be cast. 

She paused to savor the moment. She was finally going to have her revenge. She was going to make them suffer the way she had suffered. The savior had tried to stop her, but she had stayed two steps ahead. Sure, there had been a couple of close calls, but she had managed to overcome them. Now her victory was at hand.

She picked up the bell from the Jolly Roger and placed it in the proper cauldron. Immediately, the steam turned silver like the bell and began to transform into a thick smoke. She did the same with the license plate, turning that cauldron’s steam into yellow smoke. Finally, she added the black bead, which changed the steam in Hope’s cauldron to a shade of pink that matched the stuffed swan the child constantly carried around.

Smoke rose higher from each cauldron, and Alice laughed a hysterical, triumphant laugh. She had done it! She spun around, dancing in the smoke from the cauldrons, illuminated by the sickly glow of the magic flames that crackled beneath them. Slowly, the smoke from each cauldron began to seep over the edge and make its way out of the cave.

*********

It was Saturday night in Storybrooke. The jukebox at Granny’s blared, and the diner was crowded. August and his father sat at the counter sipping beer while Marcus flirted with Granny, who blushed when he wasn’t looking. Mulan, Moana and Skye were sitting at a table with several merry men and Robin. (Skye kept sneaking glances at the young archer.) 

The Charming family was also enjoying the diner’s friendly atmosphere. Emma, Killian and Hope (and Pinky) sat together in a booth in the corner with Snow, Charming and Prince Neal. The children both had chocolate milkshakes while the adults relaxed with drinks. Neal had ordered waffles, and Killian was showing the children how to make houses out of them. One of the first movies Emma had shown him was 50 First Dates, and Killian seemed to believe making houses out of waffles was a common occurrence in this realm. She smiled as she watched Killian show Hope how to use a toothpick as a “hinge” for the door. The little girl clapped her hands and squealed with delight.

Suddenly, without warning, the door to the diner burst open. Leroy ran in, his eyes wild. “It’s here!” he screamed. Emma turned with a jerk and met Killian’s eyes, fear written on both of their faces. They leapt from the table. Killian grabbed Hope as Emma raced to the window.

Thick clouds of smoke were barreling down the street. Emma briefly registered that they appeared to be three different colors before rushing back to her family. “Mommy?” Hope asked in a tiny voice. Tears filled Emma’s eyes. She knew there was nothing she could do to stop the curse from reaching them. Killian’s face was ashen, tears in his eyes as well. Emma touched his cheek gently. “I love you,” she said. Killian tried to say the same but his voice caught in his throat. Emma wrapped her arms around her daughter and her husband, placing her cheek against Hope’s forehead.

Everyone else in the diner embraced each other, waiting for the worst. Snow and Charming held Neal tightly. Mulan and Moana held their daughter. August and Marcus crouched together on the floor, holding hands. Granny put a protective arm around Robin.

Glancing at the window, Emma could see the smoke had almost reached the door. At that moment, Emma remembered the stone Zelena had given her. She had been carrying it in her pocket at all times since the day of their conversation in Zelena’s parlor. As the smoke began seeping into the front of the diner, Emma shoved her hand in her pocket and grasped the stone as tightly as she could. She huddled together with Hope and Killian, shivering as the smoke overtook them. Everything went dark.

*********

The sound of a cell phone alarm pierced the quiet of the bedroom. Emma groped for the phone on her nightstand and hit the snooze. Still half asleep, she rolled over and reached for Killian. The bed was empty. He must be up already, Emma thought to herself. Hundreds of years as captain of the Jolly Roger had trained him to wake with the sun. 

Emma yawned and blinked open her eyes. Then, with a start, she shot straight up and looked around in shock. She recognized her surroundings of course, but this was all wrong. She was in her apartment in Boston! The same bed, same dresser, same walls, even the same bedsheets she’d owned years before. How?

She rolled over and felt something under her in the bed. It felt small, hard, round, and smooth. Emma reached under the covers and pulled out a small white stone. Zelena’s memory stone. And suddenly everything came back to Emma in a rush. She’d been cursed. Again.

Emma searched her brain for her last memory before waking up in Boston. She had been at Granny’s, holding tight to Hope and Killian. Emma’s heart leapt into her throat. Hope and Killian! Where were they? 

She quickly ran into the living room, almost tripping over the bed covers in her rush. There was no one there. She checked the bathroom, the closets, even the balcony, but she already knew in her heart they weren’t there. There was no sign of them in the apartment. There were no pictures of them, none of their clothes. There was nothing to indicate that anyone was in the apartment except Emma.

Emma rushed back to the bedroom and grabbed her cell phone. She tried to dial Killian and quickly realized that all of her contacts from Storybrooke were gone, replaced with her contacts from Boston. She dialed Killian’s number by hand. No connection. She tried her parents, Henry, Regina, Zelena, even Granny. She could not connect with anyone from Storybrooke. Somehow, the curse had blocked her from contacting them.

Setting the phone down, Emma’s hands began to shake. She balled up her fists to try to calm them. Then suddenly she noticed something else. Her fingers were all bare. Her engagement ring and wedding band were gone.

Emma sank into a kitchen chair and pressed her fingers to her temples. Panic began to overtake her. She forced herself to take deep breaths to clear her mind. She had to think. She wracked her brain, but she had no idea where the witch could have sent Hope and Killian. 

She sat at the table trying to decide what to do, feeling somewhat lost and desperate. After a few moments, the sound of siren passing on the street outside pierced her thoughts. Raising her head slightly, Emma noticed for the first time that something was sitting on a plate across the table. When she realized what it was, she laughed. Despite the dire situation, she couldn’t help it. She actually laughed.

Sitting on the table was a cupcake with a single candle. The same cupcake she’d bought for herself each year she lived in Boston as she spent all of her birthdays alone. So THAT was the witch’s curse. She’d tried to send Emma back to that time when she had no one. She’d tried to turn Emma back into the lost girl who believed no one could love her.

And Emma laughed because the witch had failed. She may not have been able to stop the curse, but she was still the savior. And she wasn’t alone. Not anymore. She’d relied on her friends, and in return, Zelena had given her the one thing she needed to defeat Alice—her own identity. Emma Swan knew who she was. She was royalty, the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. She was the sheriff of a little town in Maine. She was a mother of two kind, beautiful children. She was a wife, her true love a brave pirate captain with a loving heart who had fought his way out of hundreds of years of darkness for HER. And she was the savior, dammit. She had the power to save her family.

With grim determination, Emma stood up from the table. She had to get to Storybrooke. That was the first step. She needed magic, and she needed help. She raced to the bedroom, grabbed a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt and her red jacket. She found her purse and keys on the table near the door where she had always kept them. She ran down the stairs and scanned the street. Mercifully, spotting her bright yellow bug among the other cars was easy. She jumped inside and peeled away from the curb. 

**********

Hope awoke on a hard floor. It was cold. It was dark. It was quiet. She didn’t know where she was, and she was scared. Her little heart beat faster. “Mommy? Daddy?” she cried urgently. Her voice echoed eerily around her.

“You have no Mommy and Daddy, Hope,” a cold woman’s voice said with satisfaction. A light like fire appeared, flickering on the wall. Hope could see that the room was made of stone. It reminded Hope of a castle, but not the stately castle where her step-great-grandma Regina lived in the Enchanted Forest. This room was bare, with empty gray walls that looked as if they’d been broken and thrown back together.

“Do you like it?” the woman asked as she caught Hope looking around the room. The little girl was wearing a pink flowered dress, and her blonde curls were mussed from sleeping on the floor. “This is your new home,” the woman continued. I built it myself. Or rather, I rebuilt it myself. I used to live here, you see. It was a bit more homey then. It was destroyed years ago, but I rebuilt it with magic. Just for you, Hope,” the woman said with fake sweetness in her voice.

“Who are you?” Hope asked. She hugged Pinky tight in her arms.

“Who am I?” the woman laughed a cold and malicious laugh. “Who am I? Why, I’m Alice.”

“Alice?” Hope asked tentatively.

“You don’t know who I am?” The woman barked. “You killed my father, and you didn’t even have the courtesy to find out who I am?”

“The man who came into my house,” Hope remembered in a small voice. “The one who looked like Daddy but wasn’t Daddy.”

“Ah, so you admit you killed him!”

“No!” Hope cried, growing more frightened with each moment. “No, it was an accident. I was only trying to help Daddy. He fell out the window.”

“Lies!” screamed the woman. “You murdered him!”

“No,” Hope began to cry. “No!”

“Oh, yes!” the woman yelled. Then she stopped and took a breath. In a calmer, but still cold voice, she said, “And now you’re going to be punished.” 

Hope stepped backward, tears streaming down her face. “Are-are you going to kill me?” she stammered, trembling with fear.

“Oh, no, little Hope. You won’t be dying today. You’re going to be here for a long, long time. You see, you’re a prisoner here now, just like I was.” 

The woman waved her hand and a small table appeared with a plate of bread and a cup. “This table is magic. Food and drink will appear regularly to keep you alive.”

Hope swallowed, then asked quietly, “So I have to stay here with you?”

Alice laughed. “Oh, no, my dear. Not with me. Just you. All alone. Just like I was.”

“Mommy and Daddy will find me!” Hope yelled insistently. “Our family always finds each other.”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Alice responded angrily, “You have no mother and father. They’re gone and they have no memory of you now. You have no one!”

And with those words, Alice disappeared in a puff of black smoke. 

Hope sat down on the ground. She looked around the empty room and tried not to be afraid. She tried to be brave like her parents. She was the daughter of the savior and a daring pirate captain. They were brave heroes. She could be brave, too, she told herself. Grabbing Pinky, she hugged him as hard as she could. “Don’t be afraid, Pinky,” Hope said, trying not to cry. “They WILL find us. Mommy and Daddy WILL find us.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read so far! We’re getting close to the end of the story. I hope you’ve enjoyed it.

Emma drove as fast as she dared on I-95. It was only a couple of hours from Boston to Storybrooke, but it felt like an eternity. As she drove, she ran through every potential scenario in her head. Killian and Hope could be anywhere, in any realm. 

She tried again to call Killian on her cell phone, along with everyone else she knew in Storybrooke. It was still no use. None of the numbers connected. Frustrated, she tossed the phone on the seat next to her.

With nothing to do but drive, Emma’s mind began to drift towards her worst fears. What if she never found them? What if they’d been changed in appearance by the curse so she wouldn’t recognize them and it took her years to find them, until Hope had grown up and Killian had grown old without her? What if Killian was cursed to think he was married to someone else, like David had been with Kathryn? 

Her thoughts grew darker. They took her back to a pitch black night years ago when she knelt on the cold, hard ground by the lake, her head on Killian’s chest where his heart should have been beating, but it wasn’t beating. Blood streamed from the wound on his neck. He was gone. What if he was gone again? What if he and Hope were both—

“No!” Emma shouted out loud. She pounded her hand on the steering wheel and forced herself to think rationally. If Alice had wanted to kill them, she could have done it with a simple fireball or by crushing their hearts. She wouldn’t have needed to go to the elaborate effort of a curse. They were alive. They HAD to be.

Emma forced herself to think of other things, of potential strategies and plans to find them. She counted all the realms she knew, mentally listing every ruler and whether they were friend or foe. It may not have been strictly necessary, but it helped keep her mind occupied and away from her darkest fears.

Finally, Emma began to recognize the forest that bordered Storybrooke. Punching the gas harder, she saw the town line approaching. The second she crossed it, she could feel her magic return. Wasting no time, Emma closed her eyes and focused on home. Instantly, she and the bug disappeared in a puff of white smoke and reappeared on the street outside the familiar blue-gray Victorian.

*********

Tipping back a bottle of the familiar brown liquid, he took a long drink and assessed his surroundings. The mattress was hard, barely worth calling a mattress. The “room” was not even that. It was more like a storage area, with cold cinder block walls. It was dark here in the basement, but did it really matter?

He’d wasted his life on thieving and killing and rum and revenge. Now he was old and broken and alone, and, well, didn’t he deserve it? He wasn’t even worth the pity the woman who lived in the house had shown him in giving him this place to rest his head.

He took another drink from the bottle. He guessed maybe someday he’d die here. And who would know or care? Who would mourn him? He was nothing after all. Oh, there were kind people in this town, like David Nolan (Prince Charming in the other world), his wife Snow, and their beautiful, brave daughter, Emma. They would surely give him a respectable funeral and say a few appropriate words out of pity. But their lives would go on just like everyone else’s. He would be forgotten the moment he was dead.

He lay down on the mattress and closed his eyes. Maybe in sleep he could forget how empty his life was, at least for a little while.

*********

“Hope! Killian!” Emma called their names over and over as she wandered through the empty house. She checked every room, every closet, even the basement, attic, and shed. No one was there.

It wasn’t unexpected. Emma had known it was a long shot that the curse would have sent either of them home, but she had to try. Besides, she needed something that was in the house. Pushing a chair against the kitchen cabinets, she climbed up and reached for a bottle she kept on the back of the top shelf. It was a locator potion she had stored in case of an emergency. She took it upstairs and carefully laid one of Killian’s jackets and Hope’s beanie on the bed.

Uncorking the bottle, Emma sprinkled a bit of the potion on Hope’s beanie first. It glowed with a golden light for a moment, but it didn’t move. Emma knew what that meant from old experiences with the spell. Hope wasn’t in this realm.

Emma bit her lip and closed her eyes. Her mind started to wander to horrible scenarios of where Hope could be, but she quickly pushed those thoughts away. Letting her imagination run away with her would do her family no good. She had to concentrate. She was never going to find them if she didn’t. 

Turning to Killian’s jacket, she poured some of the potion on the black leather. Immediately, the jacket glowed, rose into the air, and began to float out the bedroom door. Emma’s heart began to race. Killian wasn’t far away! Emma quickly followed the floating jacket down the stairs and out the front door.

*******

Charming paced the floor at Gold’s pawn shop. “Where could she have sent them?” he asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. Snow was standing next to the counter, head bowed, fighting back tears. How had this happened again? How had they lost Emma again? And now their granddaughter and son-in-law were missing, too.

After the smoke had lifted from Granny’s, Snow and Charming had realized in horror that half their family was missing. Neal was still there, wrapped in their arms, but Emma, Killian, and Hope were gone. They’d run outside, searched the neighborhood, but nothing. They’d tried calling Emma and Killian’s cell phones, but there was no connection. They and Hope had simply vanished.

After several hours of searching, they had gathered at the pawn shop with Gideon, Zelena, Robin, Mulan, Moana and Skye. They’d contacted Henry and Cinderella, who were on their way. Regina was dealing with a nasty uprising in Camelot, but she had promised to come as soon as she could. 

There had been no sign of Alice, either. Robin had tried contacting her, but to no avail. They had traced the source of the curse to the cave below the library where Regina had kept Maleficent prisoner long ago, but all that remained were three empty cauldrons. There was no clue as to where Alice was or what the curse had done with the Swan-Jones family. 

They had brought the cauldrons to the pawn shop to see if any of the objects there could reveal the secrets of the curses the cauldrons had once held, but so far nothing had worked. Meanwhile, they kept going over the same questions with no answers. It was maddening. “Where are they?” Charming asked again in frustration. Snow walked over to him and took his arm. “We’ll find them, David,” she promised. “We always find each other.”

*******

Emma followed the floating jacket into the forest. Eventually, it led her to a clearing where there was a familiar old farmhouse. Zelena’s house. It didn’t appear like anyone was home, yet the jacket went straight for the house. Bypassing the front door, it led Emma to the entrance to the basement. 

Emma opened the doors as quietly as she could. Using her phone for a flashlight, she carefully descended the stairs. As she reached the bottom, she shivered. It was dark and dank and cold. There was no sound. Emma started to wonder if the spell had made a mistake. Then a lantern suddenly shown with a feeble light and a voice pierced the silence. “Stop!” 

Emma would know that voice anywhere, yet it also sounded different. It seemed weaker and older somehow. It sounded almost like—

And then she saw him. He was barely able to stand, half-heartedly holding up a sword as he rounded a corner to see who was there. It was Killian—she knew that in her heart—but anger rose in her chest when she saw what the witch had done to him. His hair was gray and matted. His clothes were dirty and torn. The curse had turned him into Rogers—Rogers as he was in the Wish Realm before he stole Killian’s blood to make himself younger. 

“Sheriff Swan?” he asked in confusion, lowering his sword. “What are you doing here?”

Emma winced. Oh god, what had Alice done to him? He didn’t remember. He didn’t know.

She stepped towards him slowly. “Killian, I know you don’t remember but I need you to. You have to come back to me. Hope is in trouble. Please.”

Killian stumbled and fell. The curse had apparently made him drunk as well. Anger bloomed in Emma’s chest. How much liquor had that witch pumped into his blood? 

She rushed to his side, kneeling on the hard basement floor beside him. She placed her arm around him to help him sit up. “S-sorry, sheriff,” he slurred, “I’d like to help you but I dunno what the bloody hell you’re talking about.”

His eyes were glazed and unfocused. Oh, god she had to help him! She had get him to remember. They had to get to Hope. 

How could she break a curse quickly? Emma’s mind raced. The only thing she knew that would break a curse quickly was true love’s kiss, but she also knew it wouldn’t work if the person didn’t remember who they were.

Then Emma had a flash of inspiration. The memory stone! What if Killian held it while she kissed him? Maybe the combined magic could break the curse. She had to try.

Emma pulled the stone from her pocket. “Killian, take this,” she said. She took his hand and placed the stone in his palm, closing his fingers around it. “I need you to hold this for me. Please?”

“Aye, sheriff, but why?” he slurred.

“Because I’m going to kiss you,” Emma said.

Killian’s eyes widened in shock. Before he could say anything, Emma placed both of her hands on his face and kissed him gently, trying to concentrate on pouring all her love for him into the kiss. 

Images flashed in Emma’s mind—a kiss in the Neverland jungle, dancing in a red ball gown with “Prince Charles,” Killian softly placing his jacket over her shoulders as he walked her home from their first date, riding a horse together across the plains of Camelot, Killian giving his life to save her from the darkness, a tearful reunion in Storybrooke’s cemetery, and wearing a white lace gown on a rooftop at sunset as they promised themselves to each other for all eternity.

As Emma’s heart swelled with the love she had for this man—a love that had been tested and strengthened and endured even through the depths of hell itself—there was a great whoosh of air and a blinding bright light that rushed from both of them. Killian’s hair changed back to his short, dark brown locks. His jacket was leather once more, and his black jeans, wedding ring, and gold chain all returned. And then he was holding her, his hand tangled in her hair, kissing her back with a mixture of passion and tenderness that sent shivers racing up her spine.

“Emma,” he breathed, breaking the kiss and leaning his forehead against hers.

“Killian, thank god,” Emma whispered.

Killian pulled back and looked at her in amazement, realizing what had happened. “Emma, did we just—“

“Mm-hmm, I think we did,” Emma smiled shyly. She put her hand on his chest, and then she looked down. Her engagement ring and wedding ring were back, right where Killian had placed them years ago. 

Killian took her hand in his own and smiled back at her. But soon his face darkened as he remembered how they had gotten to this point. “Alice,” he said, “she cursed us.”

“Yes,” said Emma.

“Where’s Hope?”

Emma’s eyes watered. “I don’t know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I loved the two true love confirmations Emma and Killian had in the canon story, but I thought it would be nice to imagine what a true love’s kiss between them would be like. I hope I did it justice!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is getting close to the end. Just another chapter or so. I’ve really enjoyed writing these characters.
> 
> Oh, and there’s a little Lord of the Rings reference in this chapter.

“It’s my fault,” Robin said softly. “I should’ve seen sooner what she’d become. I should have stopped her!” She raised her voice and slammed her hand down on the pawn shop counter. 

“Robin, no! This is NOT your fault,” Zelena said firmly, putting an arm around her daughter.

“Robin,” said Snow, taking her hand softly. “You did nothing wrong. You loved her.”

“Robin,” said Skye, slowly walking towards her. She put her hand on Robin’s shoulder and looked into her eyes. “There was a time I put my love and trust in the wrong person. And she betrayed me and our kingdom in the worst possible way.” Skye’s eyes misted over slightly, and she swallowed before continuing. “It’s a long story, and maybe I’ll share it with you when this is all over. But the point is that you have a good, kind heart. I’ve seen it in just the few days I’ve been here. You’re brave and loving and...and beautiful.” Skye blushed a little, remembering they had an audience. “Anyway, you have the heart of a hero. You are not to blame.”

Robin swallowed and looked into the brunette’s kind, caring brown eyes. Despite everything that was happening, she felt sort of warm and fuzzy inside. It wasn’t a bad feeling. She smiled weakly. “Thanks,” she said, a little awkwardly. Skye smiled back at her.

Just then, there was a whoosh that pushed them all back against the counters. A puff of white smoke appeared near the door to the pawn shop, and to everyone’s shock, Emma and Killian stepped out.

“Emma! Killian!” Snow ran and embraced them, with Charming close behind. “Thank god!” Then she stepped back, her face clouding as she realized it was just the two of them. “Where’s Hope?” Charming asked, his voice filled with concern.

“We don’t know.” Emma said. “”The curse sent me to Boston, to my old apartment. I think the idea was for me to believe I was all alone again. But thanks to Zelena,” she gave a nod at the witch, “I had all my memories.” She pulled the stone out of her pocket.

“Glad to be of service,” Zelena said with a nod. “But if you were alone, where did you find Hook?”

“In your basement,” Killian responded. Zelena’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Apparently, the curse against me was meant to turn me into Rogers, alone and miserable and living underneath your house.”

“Then how did you undo the curse?” Snow asked.

Emma blushed, “Well, I had Killian hold the memory stone and, well...”

“True love’s kiss!” supplied Snow knowingly, and Killian scratched behind his ear.

“But now that we’re both free of the curse, we need your help,” Killian said, and he and Emma both looked at Robin.

“Me?” Robin asked. “How can I help?”

Emma walked up to Robin and took both of her hands. “I know this is hard. And believe me when I say that I know what it’s like to give your heart and your faith to someone only to find out you were wrong about them. You don’t deserve this, Robin, and if there were anyone else I could ask, I would, but there isn’t.” Emma paused and took a breath. “Robin, Hope isn’t in this realm. I know that much. Please, please, do you have any idea where Alice might have sent her?”

Robin looked into her friend’s eyes and saw the fear written all over her face. She thought hard for a few moments. “I’m not sure,” she began, trying to think of every possibility, “but you said she cursed you to be alone in Boston, and she cursed Captain Jones to be alone like Rogers was. Well, the Evil Queen’s wish gave Alice memories that she spent most of her life alone, trapped in a tower. Do you think she might have wanted Hope to be alone, too?”

“A tower?” asked Killian. “Where?”

“In the Wish Realm,” Robin explained.

“Thank you, Robin,” Emma said gratefully, giving Robin’s hands a little shake before releasing them.

“Right,” said Killian. “With the realms merged, Emma can transport us using magic. We’ll need a few supplies.”

“I’ve got my bow and arrows at the farm, and Charming has several swords,” Snow said. “Let’s stop there first and bring them.”

“I’ve got several magical items that may be of use,” Gideon said. “I can have them ready in a few minutes.”

“You’ll also have THIS magical item,” Zelena said, stepping forward. “I’m in.” 

Emma nodded and smiled.

“I’m in, too,” Robin said, grabbing her bow from the corner and moving to stand next to her mother.

“Dear, are you sure?” asked Zelena. “You don’t have to.”

“Of course I do. My friends are in trouble.” Robin looked at Emma and Killian. “You have my bow,” she promised, with a resolute nod of her head. 

Emma and Killian nodded back, both touched by the younger woman’s brave gesture. 

“I’d be honored to fight by your side,” Skye said to Robin, stepping forward. “If you’ll have me.”

“Thank you,” Robin said, with a slight smile.

“We’re in, too, of course,” said Mulan, standing hand-in-hand with Moana, “I believe I can be useful in a pinch,” she teased with a grin, gripping the handle of her sword.

Emma and Killian looked at everyone gathered around them, ready to fight for their daughter. Emma was so moved, she could barely speak her gratitude. “Thank you,” she said, looking around. “Thank you all. So much.”

“Let’s not get all mushy,” Zelena broke in. “Let’s get a move on. I’m ready to take on that witch. No one hurts my daughter,” she said fiercely.

“Or ours,” said Killian with equal resolve, looking into Emma’s eyes. The determination he saw there matched his own. “Let’s go!” she said.

********

The little flames the lady had lit on the walls were getting smaller. It was getting darker in the round room. Hope knew that it would be completely dark soon.

She had tried not to cry, but she hadn’t been able to stop the tears. She missed her mommy and daddy. And she was scared. She was scared she’d never see them again, or Grandma and Grandpa, or her house. Were they looking for her? The lady said they’d forgotten her. Was she right?

Hope wiped her tears with her sleeves. Then somewhere deep in her little heart, a flame began to grow inside her. No! The mean lady wasn’t right. Mommy was the savior. Daddy was a hero. They would fight for her. They would never give up.

And neither would she. Although she still felt very small and helpless, Hope also felt determined. Maybe she could use that feeling for magic like Mommy had taught her. Slowly, Hope stood up in the middle of the room. She held out her hands and concentrated. She pictured the lights on the walls growing brighter. She focused hard on what she wanted the lights to become. And then her magic, white and powerful, flowed from her hands and reignited the torches. It worked!

Feeling a little braver, Hope looked around the room. It was better, but still not very cheery. Concentrating again, she pictured the fireplace in her living room at home. She remembered last Christmas when their fireplace crackled with a warm, welcoming flame as she and Mommy roasted marshmallows while Daddy sang old Christmas carols from the Enchanted Forest. She held onto that warm feeling and focused, stretching out her hands in front of her. White streaks of magic streamed towards the wall, and a large stone fireplace appeared, brightening the gloomy room with a warm, cheery glow.

Now that the room was brighter, Hope looked at the floor. It was cold and dark. Thinking of home, she remembered sitting on Daddy’s lap in a big, cozy chair by the fire, reading Henry’s special book, and drinking hot chocolate with cinnamon that Mommy made them. Closing her eyes, Hope thought about that cozy feeling. She concentrated hard and pictured the chair and Mommy’s special hot chocolate. And then a big, soft armchair appeared next to the fire, complete with Hope’s favorite drink and an exact copy of Henry’s book.

“There,” said Hope to Pinky. “That’s better, isn’t it? We can wait here by the fire, read our book, and drink hot chocolate until Mommy and Daddy come to save us.” 

Feeling better and much braver, Hope picked up Pinky and sat with him in the chair. She took a big drink of hot chocolate that warmed her through and through. Then she picked up the book and began to look at the story of her family, a family who never gave up. A family who would always find each other. And each picture Hope saw helped dispel a little more of the darkness.

***********

Standing in the Charmings’ barn, Killian examined the blade Charming had chosen for Emma. She’d insisted that her father carry his own sword since she had her magic as a weapon, but they still wanted to make sure she had a blade at her side. “It’s a quality sword,” said Killian grimly. “It’ll do.”

Charming looked at his son-in-law. His eyes were shadowed and his forehead creased with worry. And he knew exactly what Killian was feeling. On the surface, the two of them were very different. He was a prince and he’d always stayed on the heroes’ side, while Killian was a pirate who had once trod the darkest of paths.

But they were alike more than they were different. Killian had the same fierce devotion to his family that Charming did. He had the same courage, the same willingness to fight any evil, slay any dragon for the people he loved. It was why Charming trusted him as a son.

Charming clasped Killian’s shoulder. “Hey, we’re going to find her,” he promised.

“I know we will,” Killian answered. “But what do we do when we get there? Dark magic, a powerful sorceress. What good are swords against that?” He leaned the blade against a wall next to the other swords they had gathered. Looking down at his feet, he signed in frustration. “I’d die to protect Hope. But do I even have the power to protect her?”

Charming felt a pang in his heart as Killian spoke what Charming often felt himself. He knew how to wield a sword, and he would fight anyone to protect his family, but when evil queens and witches and dark fairies attacked, he had often felt helpless, even useless because he had no magic with which to stop them.

But Charming also knew there was a power stronger than the darkest curse. It was a power that had saved him and Snow time and again. “Swords may not defeat dark magic, but love will,” he told Killian. “Yes, I sound like Snow, but you know it’s true. You’ve seen it. You saw it yourself in Zelena’s basement earlier today. Trust in that power, Killian, when the sword fails you. Love is the most powerful magic of all.”

“Did you just quote your song from the music spell?” Killian asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re not going to sing, are you?”

“Well if I did, now THAT would definitely be magic,” Charming teased.

Killian managed a weak smile. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.

“Well, what are fathers for?” Charming responded.

At that moment, Emma and Snow appeared in the door to the barn. “Are you ready?” Snow asked. Charming nodded.

They all gathered in the backyard, swords at their belts, Snow and Robin with their bows. Gideon carried a satchel of carefully chosen magical items from the pawn shop that he hoped would be useful. 

Emma stood and faced them all, Killian at her side. She took a deep breath, and he clasped her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Is everyone ready?” she asked.

“We’re ready, sweetheart,” Snow responded. 

“Robin?” Emma said, extending her other hand. The younger woman walked forward and took it. 

“Can you picture the tower in your mind?” Emma asked. Robin nodded. “Ok. Focus on it as hard as you can.” Emma concentrated, too, using her magic to create a connection between her mind and Robin’s. Slowly, the picture in Robin’s mind appeared in her own. 

Once Emma could see the tower, she felt her magic beginning to take over. Harnessing her feelings of resolve and determination to protect Hope, Emma’s magic grew stronger until it felt like an electrical charge running through her body. With a puff of white smoke and a roar like thunder, Emma transported them all towards the tower Robin had pictured.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter of the main part of the story. I have one more chapter planned as an epilogue. I’ve had a lot of fun writing Killian and Emma and little Hope. Thanks for reading!

When the white smoke cleared, Hope’s rescue party found themselves in a forest clearing. The sky was gray and clouded. Trees surrounded them on all sides. They all began to fan out, examining their surroundings.

“Where is the tower?” Snow asked, turning to look at the others. No one had an answer. The tower wasn’t in sight.

There was a small, rocky hill near the center of the clearing. Mulan quickly made her way to the top. When she reached the summit, she turned slowly, scanning the horizon. “It’s there!” she said, pointing.

Emma, Killian and the others joined her. From the hill, they could see the very top of a ramshackle tower made of gray stone. Killian pulled out his spyglass. “It’s about a mile away,” he told the others. “I can’t see inside from here.”

“A mile?” Emma asked. “That doesn’t make sense. We should have appeared right at the tower.”

Zelena strode up to the edge of the clearing nearest the tower. She stood for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. Then she suddenly conjured a fireball and threw it at the trees. The others gasped, then watched in amazement as the fireball stopped in midair, and, for a split second, a giant blue translucent dome appeared surrounding the tower. The fireball dissolved into the shield and both disappeared.

“A protection spell,” Zelena said grimly. “That’s why we’re so far away. Someone doesn’t want us near that tower.”

“So how do we get through?” asked Killian.

Before anyone could answer, loud crashing noises broke the quiet of the clearing. The sounds seem to be coming from all directions. Branches snapped. Leaves crunched. Birds flew screeching from the trees. 

Within seconds, they saw what was causing the noise. Trees that had been animated by magic were clomping through the forest towards them. They resembled the tree that had interrupted the Charmings’ ball, but now there were dozens closing in from all sides.

Several things happened at once as the magic trees reached the clearing. Snow and Robin fired arrows at them, but it only slowed them slightly. Killian, Charming, Skye, and Mulan drew their swords and hacked at the branches. Emma, Zelena, and Gideon sent them flying backwards with pulses of magic.

The trees fell back a bit in the face of the heroes’ resistance, but the fight went on. There seemed to be an endless supply of them, and more kept appearing. No matter how many Zelena blasted to smithereens or Charming hacked to pieces with his sword, there were still more.

Gideon quickly realized that the trees were nothing but a distraction. They had to get Emma and Killian through to the tower. He walked around the edge of the clearing until he found what he was looking for. While the others continued to deal with the trees, he pulled Emma and Killian aside, away from the fray. “I think I can get you through the barrier to Hope,” he said, raising his voice to be heard above the din.

“How?” asked Emma.

“With this.” Gideon showed them a small, frail flower hidden amongst the bushes. “It’s a pixie flower. There’s only one. I think there were more, but she destroyed them. Yet the act of destroying them itself created a new flower. In darkness, the light always finds a way,” he smiled.

Emma grasped Killian’s hand. “Pixie flowers open a door that allows true loves to be reunited. It’s how I found you in Neverland when the Lost Boys were about to kill you,” she explained. Turning to Gideon, she asked, “Can you get it ready for us to use?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Just help the others hold the trees off. It will only take a few minutes.”

Gideon opened the satchel he had brought and set to work extracting the precious pixie dust from the flower. Emma stood nearby blasting trees with her magic, and Killian chopped branches with his sword.

By this point, the entire clearing was engulfed in chaos as the rescue party tried to hold the trees at bay. Gideon knelt on the ground behind where Emma and Killian were fighting side by side to protect the young wizard who held the key to reaching their daughter. He pulled a vial and small magical tweezers from the satchel. Working as carefully and quickly as he could, he used the tweezers to pull bits of pixie dust pollen from the flower and deposit them in the vial. After several anxious minutes, he called out, “It’s ready!”

Firing one last large blast of magic at the trees, Emma turned and ran towards Gideon, Killian at her side. “When the door opens,” Gideon yelled, “Get through as fast as you can. I’ll hold the trees off as long as possible.”

Emma and Killian nodded. They looked at each other and clasped hands. Gideon handed Emma the vial. Emma flung the pixie dust into the air in front of her. A large, elaborately carved wooden door appeared before them. But trees were closing in on both sides quickly. Gideon handled one side, but the trees on the other side were about to come between them and the door. Emma and Killian sprinted towards it, but the trees were faster.

Suddenly, the nearest tree fell back, an arrow piercing the middle. More arrows were coming fast. It was Robin. “Go!” she yelled to Killian and Emma. “I’ll hold them!” She ran past, firing arrows as quickly as she could. Emma and Killian ran through the door. It closed behind them and disappeared.

As soon as the door disappeared, Robin ran out of arrows. She turned and tried to run, but one of the trees grabbed her with its branches and lifted her off the ground. It began to squeeze her. Robin struggled to free herself. The tree was going to crush her.

“Not today, you psycho Ent or whatever you are!” someone yelled from behind Robin. It was Skye. She leaped forward and began hacking at the tree and the branches. It retreated slightly but squeezed Robin tighter. The pain was almost unbearable. Then her arm broke with a loud crack, and she screamed in pain. Skye gave one final, mighty blow with her sword at the branch holding Robin and it split. Robin fell to the ground.

Wounded, the tree retreated. Skye ran to Robin. She was unconscious, but her breathing was steady. Skye gently lifted the brave young woman over her shoulder and carried her away from the heat of the battle.

*******

As Skye was rescuing Robin, Emma and Killian stumbled through the door into a dim space beyond. They fell onto a hard, stone floor. For a moment, everything was silent. And then they heard her. “Mommy? Daddy?” came a tiny voice. It was Hope.

They ran to their daughter and knelt down beside her, pulling her into a hug. Emma stroked her hair. “Baby, we found you!” she cried. Killian held Hope tight, thanking the gods she was safe. “Are you ok, cygnet?” He asked, pulling back to look at her.

“I’m o.k.,” said Hope, a little teary-eyed but otherwise calm. Her words came out in a rush. “I was scared, but I tried to be brave like you. The lady said you had forgotten me, but I knew you would come. Henry says our family always finds each other.” She finished with a small smile.

Emma looked at Hope, tears of happiness on her face. “We won’t let that lady hurt you anymore,” she promised.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” said a cold voice. It was Alice. She had somehow appeared on the opposite side of the room, and she was leering at them. Killian quickly lifted Hope into his arms while Emma stood protectively between them and the sorceress. 

Emma stared at the woman and her eyes flashed. “You’ve lost,” she said. “Your plan failed. I broke your curse. And I WILL protect my family.”

Alice’s face twisted in rage. She sent a blast of magic towards Emma, which Emma easily deflected. It smashed against one of the walls, making the tower shake. Furious, Alice continued to fire magic at Emma. Killian crouched on the ground near the chair and shielded Hope with his body, keeping her safe from flying debris. 

It soon became apparent that Emma easily matched Alice’s magic, and Alice realized if she was going to defeat the savior, she’d have to hit her where it hurt. Alice used magic to slam the chair into Emma, distracting her. Then she conjured a cage and flung Killian into it, locking the door behind him. As Emma blasted the chair away, Alice used her magic to lift Hope high into the ceiling, suspending her there. Hope floated precariously at least 30 feet above the floor.

“Let her down!” Killian yelled. Emma’s eyes narrowed. “That’s my daughter, you b*tch!” she cried. She fired a blast of magic at Alice, knocking her backward, breaking Alice’s hold on Hope. Then Emma deftly caught Hope with her own magic and lowered her safely back to the ground next to her.

Emma turned to fire more magic at Alice, but Alice was fixated on Hope. With a twisted grin on her face, she sent a large knife flying towards Hope. Emma leaped in front of her and turned the knife into a flower. But Alice didn’t hesitate. She sent more knives at Hope, at least a dozen. Emma stopped them all, but while Emma was busy with the knives, Alice pulled a vial from her pocket and used her magic to send a potion whirling straight at Emma. It enveloped her in a ghostly gray mist that surrounded her, then disappeared into her body. 

At that moment, everything seemed to freeze. Time stood still. The room was silent. Then Emma went ashen. She closed her eyes and fell to the ground. 

“Emma!” Killian cried, shaking the door to the cage with all his might. It wouldn’t budge. “Mommy!” Hope screamed at the same time. She ran to her mother. “Mommy, wake up. Please wake up!” Hope shook Emma urgently, but Emma didn’t move.

“She won’t wake.” Alice said, malice dripping from her voice. “She can’t help you, Hope. No one can. And after I finish her and your father, you’ll really be all alone. Just. Like. Me.” She smiled a dark smile and began conjuring magic between her hands. 

“No!” Killian yelled. He yanked the chain from around his neck and desperately tried to use the small pendants to pick the lock. He felt helpless, everything he had told Charming about. He had no magic. How could he protect Hope? How could he save Emma in the face of such powerful darkness? 

As Killian strove valiantly to break free of the cage, Hope looked at her mother lying on the floor, tears streaming down her little face. But she also felt angry. Angry at the bad lady for locking up her Daddy and hurting her Mommy. Hope balled up her little fists. Magic comes from emotion, she remembered. She stood up slowly and harnessed her anger. She concentrated hard like Mommy had taught her. Turning swiftly, Hope flung a blast of powerful magic directly at Alice. Caught by surprise, the sorceress fell backward to the floor. The dark magic she had been conjuring disappeared.

“Hope!” Killian called to his daughter. “Tie her up! Use your magic!” Hope concentrated and, before Alice could stand, Hope held her hands out and conjured golden ropes that glowed brightly as they wrapped around Alice, trapping her.

Alice struggled against the bonds. She glared at Hope. “You little fool. You think you’ve won?” She laughed, cruel and callous. “That poison is seeping into your mother’s veins. She’ll be dead in minutes.”

Hope started to cry. Hard. “Hope,” came Killian’s gentle voice from behind her. “Cygnet, come here.” Hope ran to the cage and Killian did his best to hold her through the bars. He took her hand in his, his heart breaking at the pain and fear in her eyes.

“Hope, look at me,” he said quietly so Alice couldn’t hear. “You’ve been so brave. As brave as Mommy. I need you to be brave a little longer. Can you do that for me?” he asked, gently wiping the tears from her eyes. Hope nodded.

“Good girl,” Killian said, smiling softly at her. “Hope, do you remember the story of Grandma and Grandpa in Henry’s book? When Grandma fell asleep from the poisoned apple, how did she wake up?”

“Grandpa woke her,” Hope answered, “with true love’s kiss.”

“That’s right, little love,” Killian told her. “The most powerful magic of all. More powerful than whatever curse is on your mother. Hope, you need to give Mommy a kiss. Concentrate on how much you love Mommy, how she cares for you and loves you. I know you can do it, Cygnet. You just need to believe.”

He squeezed her hand tightly and brushed the rest of the tears from his daughter’s face. “You can do it, Hope.” 

Hope nodded again. Slowly, she turned around. Alice was still struggling with the bonds, trying to blast them with magic. A few started to break.

“Now, Cygnet!” Killian cried, praying a silent prayer that Hope could reach Emma in time. Hope ran to her mother’s side and knelt next to her. She took one last look at Alice, then turned and bent next to Emma’s ear. She patted he mother’s hair reverently. “I love you, Mommy,” she whispered. Then she kissed Emma’s cheek.

A powerful blast of white magic burst from Hope and Emma. It shook the tower and reverberated beyond. 

And then all of a sudden, many things began to happen. The cage that was holding Killian disappeared, and he ran to his wife and daughter. Emma’s eyes fluttered and she awoke with a gasp. “Hope,” she smiled weakly, touching her daughter’s cheek. “You saved me.” 

Before Hope could respond, they heard a scream. “What have you done?” Alice shrieked. “What have you done?” She clawed at her face, and Emma and Killian watched in horror as Alice began to dissolve into dust, screaming. They quickly hid Hope’s face between them so she wouldn’t see.

Then, as they huddled together on the floor, the walls of the tower began to dissolve and crumble around them. They held tight to each other while the whole world seemed to disappear and go blank. 

*****

Gradually, Emma became aware of voices around her. Concerned voices. She was still on the ground, holding Hope close to her. She could still feel Killian’s arms around them both. “How did they get here?” she heard a voice, vague and far away.

A closer voice then. More familiar. “Who cares how they got here? Help them off the floor, you idiots!” Emma would know that voice anywhere. Granny.

She realized then that her eyes were closed. Opening them, she was stunned to find that she, Killian and Hope were now on the floor in the middle of Granny’s diner.

“Emma! Hope! Killian!” It was Snow’s voice this time, and within seconds, Snow and Charming were there, helping them up off the floor and hugging each of them over and over. 

Bewildered, Emma realized Zelena, Gideon, Robin, Skye and the rest were all there, too. The entire rescue mission had been sent to Granny’s. But how?

“How did we all end up here?” Mulan asked, her face as confused as Emma felt. 

“What happened in that tower?” Zelena asked.

Killian explained how Alice had poisoned Emma and how Hope had awoken her with true love’s kiss. “Then everything seemed to dissolve around us” he finished.

“The curse,” Zelena mused. “Hope broke the curse.”

“But If true love’s kiss woke Emma, then how did we all get here?” Charming asked.

“It wasn’t just the curse of the poison she broke,” Gideon stepped in. “Remember when the Evil Queen created the Wish Realm? She designed it as a punishment for Emma telling Aladdin that she wished she was never the savior. The Wish Realm was a curse.”

“So when Hope kissed Emma...” Killian began.

“The entire curse of the Wish Realm was undone.” Zelena finished in amazement. “It’s gone. Completely gone. And we were sent back here to Storybrooke as if the Wish Realm never existed.”

With that explanation, everyone began hugging and holding each other again. Killian lifted Hope and spun her around. “I’m so proud of you, little love!” He told her, kissing her cheek and hugging her tight. Hope giggled. Emma smiled and brushed a lock of hair from Hope’s face. “My brave girl. You did it. You remembered how to control your magic.”

“I only did what you taught me, Mommy. And what Daddy told me to do. He told me to believe true love could save you.” Hope said.

Emma smiled and hugged her. Then she kissed Killian’s cheek. “You did it, too,” she said, beaming at her husband. “You and Hope together.”

*********

Several hours later, Killian carried a sleeping Hope up the stairs, with Emma beside them. They were all exhausted. Granny had insisted they all needed food and plenty of liquids after their ordeal, especially Hope. Then Robin was awake, and Emma and Zelena used magic to heal her broken arm. Emma and Killian both hugged her tightly, and Skye never left her side.

Before long, people started coming in to see them as word got out around Storybrooke what had happened. Soon one of Granny’s infamous parties was in full swing. Emma, Killian, Hope and the others had been surrounded by well wishers until late into the evening, as the rescue party had to tell their tale to each newcomer who entered the diner.

Finally, Snow had taken charge and insisted her granddaughter needed to sleep. That prompted one final round of hugs, and Emma and Killian took time to speak individually to each of their friends who had joined the rescue and risked their lives for Hope. 

Now they were home. Finally. Emma gently pulled down Hope’s bedcovers and turned on the nightlight. Killian laid his little girl gently on the bed and kissed her forehead. Emma tucked Pinky under her arm and pulled up the blankets.

She stood and reached for Killian’s hand. He pulled her into his arms, and they stood there for a long time, holding each other and looking at their daughter. Hope was home. She was safe in her own bed. Emma tried not to cry, but the emotion of the day hit her hard now that they were alone. Tears glistened on her cheeks as she held tight to Killian. “We almost lost her,” Emma whispered in a raspy voice. “She almost lost us.”

“But she didn’t,” Killian replied gently, stroking her hair softly. “We’re all safe now. You were brilliant, Swan. You fought like hell.”

“It was Hope who saved us, though, not me.” Emma said, looking down.

“Hey,” Killian said, pulling back slightly to look into his wife’s face. He touched her chin and gently tilted her face upward so he could look into her eyes. “Because you taught her. You taught her how to use her magic. That was how she was able to restrain that witch so we could find a way to wake you. Hope knew how to stop her from killing us because of you, Swan.”

Emma smiled gratefully at him. “How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?”

“Ah, you’ll have to thank the gods for that. Well, one god in particular. Zeus and I are great mates,” Killian teased, winking at her.

Emma shook her head, but she was grinning. Killian touched her cheek and grew serious again. “You have no idea how terrified I was when you were lying on that floor, so pale...” His voice trailed off, shaking.

Emma gently touched his face with both hands. “It’s ok. I’m here. We’re all ok.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed him. 

Killian pulled her tight against him, kissing her harder. Emma wrapped her arms around him tightly, running her fingers through his hair as all the emotions inside them found an outlet in the embrace. After a few moments, Killian broke the kiss so he could bend down and lift Emma into his arms. “I think it’s time to go to bed, Swan,” he whispered in her ear, sending warm shivers down her spine. She smiled at him as he carried her down the hall to their room.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have truly loved writing this story. I love these characters so much. Thanks for reading!

The sounds of laughter and music filled the great hall at Arendelle. Sometimes it still took Elsa by surprise. All those years of silence and loneliness when her parents kept her hidden away from the world had taken a toll. Her parents believed they were protecting her. Elsa knew that. They had loved her so much they couldn’t bear to see her hurt. But the loneliness of those years had left a sadness in her soul.

Thankfully, that sadness was over now. With Anna’s help, Elsa had found the courage to open the gates and let people in, and not just into the castle, but into her life and her heart. And today, those gates were wide open for someone very special—Elsa’s goddaughter.

Ever since she met Emma, Elsa had felt she’d found a friend who could understand her heart. No one could be as close as her dear Anna, of course, but Emma understood what it was like to be afraid of your own powers. She and Emma had formed a very special bond, and even though they lived far from each other, they kept in touch as often as they could. 

When Emma married Killian, Elsa had been absolutely delighted. She had met him on her first trip to Storybrooke, and they developed a unique friendship based in part on their shared confusion over the modern, non-magical world. Elsa had never expected to become friends with a pirate who was so completely different from her, but life was full of surprises. Killian was one of the most decent men she knew, and he was also fiercely loyal. Most importantly, he looked at Emma like she was the sun, the moon, and the stars. Elsa knew her friends had the truest of loves, just like Anna and Kristoff, and it was a beautiful thing to see.

It had broken Elsa’s heart when she couldn’t attend Emma and Killian’s wedding. Hans’ kingdom attacked their borders, and Elsa had to stay in Arendelle to defeat the Army of the Southern Isles once again. But then Hope was born, and Elsa was thrilled beyond belief when Emma and Killian asked her to be godmother. She remembered with love and pride the day she’d held Hope in her arms in this very castle and promised to love her as if she were her own.

Now they were celebrating Hope again. When Elsa learned what had happened with Alice and how Hope had saved her family from the dark sorceress’s evil curse, she had decided to hold a grand celebration in Arendelle for Hope’s birthday. Normally, Emma and Killian or Snow and Charming hosted a gathering at one of their homes, but with all they’d been through, Elsa wanted to take the burden of planning a party off their hands.

Standing on the podium in the great hall, Elsa surveyed the scene. She’d gone a little overboard, she admitted to herself with a smile. Crystal ice lanterns with intricate, swirling designs hung all over the hall, illuminated with shimmering fairy lights. A huge, five layer cake with sparkly ice-blue frosting and silver sugar-candy cygnets was the centerpiece of the main table. Snow white calla lilies were everywhere.

“I think you’ve outdone yourself this time,” Anna said with a smile, walking up to her sister. Elsa nodded. “Well, she’s my goddaughter, and she’s been through a terrible ordeal. This was the least I could do.”

“It’s beautiful,” Anna told her, patting her arm. “Hope is going to love it.”

********

“When can we go in, Daddy?” Hope asked excitedly, bouncing up and down. She was wearing a sparkly, ice-blue dress with a full skirt. She’d chosen the color because she knew it was her godmother’s favorite. Snow had presented her with a delicate silver tiara with tiny carvings of flowers woven into the design, and it was now carefully placed atop Hope’s golden curls. It was so different from the more casual and modern clothing Hope usually wore at home. She looked every bit the young princess of Misthaven. 

Emma caught Snow’s eyes watering with happiness as she looked at her granddaughter. Emma knew this was the life she had once imagined for her children and grandchildren. Snow was the reason Emma had agreed to also wear a (modest) tiara today. It was gold, with tiny rubies in the design. It had once belonged to Snow’s mother, and Snow had given to Emma almost shyly. “I know you probably don’t want to wear it. It’s not usually your thing. You don’t have to,” Snow had mumbled nervously, looking down at the beautiful heirloom in her hands, as if she were afraid to meet Emma’s eyes. Emma had been touched, and, after all, the rubies were her favorite color. “I’ll wear it, Mom,” she had said with a gentle smile, taking Snow’s hand.

Emma had to admit the tiara was beautiful. Now she stood wearing it in a waiting room with her family at Arendelle castle. To match the rubies in the tiara, she’d used her magic to create a replica of the red dress she’d worn to Midas’ ball years ago in the Enchanted Forest. She thought it would be a fun present for Hope to recreate “Princess Leia and Prince Charles” from Henry’s book, so she had also recreated Killian’s princely attire from that event. Killian had grinned and kissed her fondly when she’d given him the clothes. Now he stood at her side, smiling down at their little girl.

“We’ll be going in soon, cygnet. They have to announce us first,” Killian explained to Hope.

As if on cue, a booming voice rang out from the other side of the door. “Presenting their royal highnesses, Snow White and David Nolan of Storybrooke, Prince and Princess of Misthaven.”

The doors opened, and Hope watched eagerly as her grandparents walked out. The doors shut again, and the announcer called out, “Presenting Sheriff Emma Swan-Jones and Captain Killian Jones of Storybrooke, Prince and Princess of Misthaven.”

“That’s us,” Emma said. “Do you remember what to do when they call you, Hope?”

“Yes, Mommy.” Hope said, beaming. Henry and Cinderella were with her to keep her company until it was her turn. Emma and Killian smiled at their daughter, and then Emma took Killian’s arm so he could escort her into the hall.

The doors shut again. “Are you ready, little squirt?” Henry teased his sister. 

Hope rolled her eyes at him. “Of course I’m ready. I’ve been practicing with Grandma forever.”

Henry bent down and handed her a small bouquet of calla lilies. “Happy birthday, baby sister,” he grinned. Hope took the flowers and hugged her brother tightly.

Within a few moments, the voice rang out again. “Presenting our guest of honor, Miss Hope Margaret Swan-Jones of Storybrooke, Princess of Misthaven!”

The doors opened. Hope felt nervous for a moment, and she hesitated. Henry gave her a gentle nudge, and she began to slowly walk forwards. Her nervousness faded away as she stared in awe at the fairyland her godmother had created for her in Arendelle’s great hall.

There were icy lights in the ceiling that twinkled like starlight. Hope knew Elsa had made them with her magic. Everything seemed to glow and sparkle. There were pretty white flowers on the tables and decorating the walls and columns. As Hope walked down the aisle, tiny, sparkly snowflakes fell from the ceiling but disappeared like magic before they reached the ground. It was like a dream. 

When Hope neared the front of the room, she finally looked down from the magical scene above her. There were her parents, her grandparents, and—

“Elsa!” Hope called out excitedly. Forgetting all the proper etiquette her grandmother had taught her, Hope ran the rest of the way down the aisle and flung herself into her godmother’s waiting arms.

Elsa bent down to Hope’s level and hugged her warmly. “Happy Birthday, my little snow angel!” Elsa said with a smile.

*******

The party was one of those rare, enchanted moments when everything feels truly right and happy and joyous. Hope and the other children squealed with delight at the special touches Elsa had planned—ice skating, building snowmen, snowball fights—all inside the castle and all accompanied by the magical, enchanted snowflakes that glittered and swirled peacefully throughout the hall.

While the children played, the adults enjoyed themselves catching up with old friends and taking turns around the dance floor. None of them were happier than Robin, who swirled around the room with Skye, a brand new diamond glittering on her finger. Before the party had begun, Skye had taken Robin for a walk outside in a little glade filled with glittering, snow-covered trees and proposed. Robin had accepted with lots of tears and smiles. Now they danced in each other’s arms, the pain of their pasts healed by their love for each other.

Emma watched the young couple and smiled. She rested her head on Killian’s shoulder. He kissed her forehead gently. “What are you thinking, love?” he asked. 

“Mmm...just how for once everyone is actually happy,” Emma responded, “No curses, no witches or monsters or dark wizards plotting to attack us. I could get used to this.”

Killian chuckled. “You wouldn’t get bored, Swan?”

“Not with two little ones to keep us on our toes.”

Killian pulled back and looked at her. He gaped at her, speechless. 

Emma grinned at his shellshocked expression. “That. That was the look I was going for.”

“Two?” Killian managed to squeak out. A huge smile slowly spread across his face. “Really?”

“Really,” Emma answered, beaming at her husband. “I found out this morning.

Killian lifted Emma into his arms and spun her around. She giggled. “You’re lucky I haven’t been nauseous yet, buddy,” she teased as he gently let her down.

“I love you,” he whispered, kissing her softly.

“I love you, too.”

********

As the sky grew dark and it was drawing near the time for the children to go to bed, Elsa gathered the family around and presented Hope with a small, velvet box adorned with a silver bow. “What is it?” Hope asked.

“Open it and see,” Elsa said with a smile.

Hope pulled off the bow. Inside was a small silver star on a silver chain. She touched it carefully.

Elsa knelt beside her. “It’s a wishing star,” she explained. “If you keep it with you, all you have to do is wish, and it will reunite you with the people you love.”

“It’s magic?” Hope asked in wonder.

“Yes,” Elsa said. “The best kind of magic. It reunited me with my sister when we were separated many years ago. Now it will make sure if you are ever separated from your parents again, you have a way back to them.”

Hope hugged her godmother happily. Emma and Killian stood watching, and Emma’s eyes misted over at Elsa’s kindness. “Thank you,” she said. Elsa took her hand and smiled.

Then Hope turned to her mother.

“Can we show everyone our surprise now, Mommy?” she asked.

Elsa looked at Emma questioningly. Emma grinned. “Sure. Elsa, do you mind if we all step out onto the terrace?”

Elsa was bemused, but she did as Emma asked. They all gathered on the terrace in the cool evening air, the sky above them dotted with glittering stars and a soft blanket of white snow surrounding them. When everyone had gathered, Killian lifted Hope high into his arms. “Are you ready, duckling?” Emma asked.

Hope nodded. 

“Just like we practiced, ok?”

“Ok, Mommy,” Hope replied. Concentrating hard, Hope reached her hands high in front of her. For a moment there was silence. Then the sky filled with sparks as fireworks exploded all around them. They burst into the sky in red, blue, purple, green, white, and every other color Hope could imagine. 

Delighted, the crowd clapped and cheered. For several minutes, the family all stood together in wonder watching Hope fill the winter evening with shimmering lights, with Killian and Emma smiling proudly at their little girl. She truly was magic.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at fanfiction. Thanks for reading!


End file.
